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Starting my second William Kent Kruger this year.
Our library‘s book club read for July, This Tender Land, was a hit for most of the group, one even called it a favorite. While I‘m less enthusiastic than others, I can see the appeal of this story of orphans who band together to escape an Indian boarding school and travel by river to meet many different people along the way. Religious healers, alcoholic-down-on-your-luck men, a brothel, etc pepper this with characters and signs of the time (1932).
“Of all that we're asked to give others in this life, the most difficult to offer may be forgiveness.”
#Powerful
#SpringSkies
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
The first 30 pages of this took me two days to read because it was so slow, and then I finished the last 400 or so in 24 hours. I‘m glad I didn‘t give up! The story of 4 orphans trying to make their way to St Louis by canoe was a good one.
Love this author and this book that #InvolvesJourney. In the summer of 1932, four young people flee the horrific Indian School in Minnesota becoming vagabonds learning about themselves, each other, and the varied characters they meet along their river odyssey while hiding from the people who are determined to find them. #NewYearNewBooks @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Up next on audio! 🎧
I‘ve heard so many people rave about this book…looking forward to trying a new-to-me author.
#23in2023
#unreadbookshelf
#bookspinbingo
I really enjoyed this book. William Kent Krueger is very good at evoking time and place; I could see every place Odie and his companions were as they traveled along the river looking for their hearts‘ desires. #audiowalk
Odie made a huge mistake several chapters ago by jumping to a conclusion without any evidence; I can‘t believe he‘s fixing to do it again! #audiowalk
For Pete‘s sake, I hope something good happens to these kids soon! I‘ve still got 5 hours left, and their lives have been so tough. It was over 100° outside today, so I didn‘t walk until around 7:00 when it finally went down to the 90s. #audiowalk
I had started this book on my way up to Canada, but I really needed something lighter. I picked it up again today as my walking book since I finished At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities. The weather app said it felt like 97° outside because of the humidity, but it really didn‘t since there was a breeze. #audiowalk
It‘s a bit warm in South Carolina right now, but there was a lot of shade where I was walking. You could swim here when I was a kid; no longer. I started This Tender Land. So far I like it. #audiowalk
Thanks to these Litsy folks for today‘s prompt:
#MAYMONTAGE
@Eggs
@AlwaysBeenALoverOfBooks
@LitsyEvents
#LitsyEvents
Today‘s Prompt: AUTHOR HAS 3 NAMES
WILLIAM KENT KRUEGER
HISTORICAL FICTION
This book is an absorbing tale of love, loss, and endurance and will fill your heart with the warmth that comes with feeling needed, helpful, and wanted.
FULL REVIEW: https://tinyurl.com/4ss96nkm
Wow. What great storytelling. A sad, but ultimately hopeful tale about the desperation of life during the Great Depression, the resilience of the human spirit, and the importance of found family. The story highlights that there are good people to be found even in the worst circumstances, but the descriptions of those circumstances definitely tug at your heartstrings. ⬇️
#Booked2023 #ReadTheUSA2023 #ReadYourTBR #NoBuyReadingChallenge
LOVED. THIS.
An amazing odyssey of 4 orphans, beautifully written with rich characters. Especially loved the settings in Minnesota and along the Mississippi River in the early 1930s. Unputdownable ❤️❤️
Day 1 #JoyousJanuary Readathon @Andrew65
#Pantone2023 @Clwojick
#Bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks
If y‘all are just looking for a read that will feel like a warm hug this is the book you‘ll want. There is just something so…nice about this story. The characters, the setting…all of it. Really glad I read this one on a friends recommendation. #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks
Pretty good depression era kid adventure. 4 orphans escape an abusive boarding school/ orphanage for mostly indigenous children to travel south towards the Mississippi River by canoe.
I appreciate that while religion is a theme, it‘s an open suggestion that (to me) seems to honor different beliefs or lack there of.
Could have done without Emmy‘s “spells” that seem maybe like seizures, I didn‘t think that added to the story.
Content Warnings.
Good, but I could do without the magical bits; I prefer more realistic. There are some surprises at the end. There is also a good author‘s note at the end discussing residential schools, the Great Depression and religious revival tours (the four “kids” come across one of these in their travels).
Exquisite! This is an epic coming of age story that being to mind the best of Dickens and Twain but with a more modern, accurate view of Indigenous, poor, and uneducated populations. Beautifully written, the prose sings in places and I loved every minute of the #audiobook . #BookspinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
3.75 ⭐️
I enjoyed the story but found myself reading quickly to get through some of the length.
Working on this one for Dewey‘s Readathon! Need to finish it by tomorrow afternoon so I can host a live book discussion online! I‘m 1/4 of the way through so far, and it‘s going well - I just need to buckle down and finish it.
This is the most casual I‘ve been about a Dewey‘s in years, and I‘m okay with that. My only goals are to finish 3 books/ read 500 pages. Anyone else participating? #deweys
What an epic voyage of a read! A literary fiction adventure read filled w/adventure, mystery, friendship, love, & forgiveness!
It‘s the 1930 and 4 children run away from the Lincoln School for Native American children. I was rooting for them to just make it to their destination & finally find the peace & love & HOME they are searching for.
I really enjoyed this book. Life is such a hard scrabble isn't it? Just couldn't help but root for these kids as they struggled to survive. Having lived in Minnesota for several years, it was also interesting to trace some of its history and read about places I've been. This opened the door for me to do more research on the subject matter.
“Of all that we're asked to give others in this life, the most difficult to offer may be forgiveness.”
A wonderfully written story about a band of vagabond children bonded through escape from a quasi school/orphanage who travel a River. The 4 are bonded through loyalty, love, and painful experiences. The characters and writing transport and push the reader to suspend reality as we cheer on he children through adventures, complex emotions and even to break laws be free.
Could not put this one down. Loved this coming of age adventure story and is 4 main characters. This is one of those books that will stay with me.
Thanks for the tag @DebbieGrillo
1. Rarely - I prefer my first gen Kindle.
2. I have an old school Kindle and I've been considering an update for ages as I would like to have a light option.
What about you - @StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego , @PurpleyPumpkin , @BeeMagical
@eggs
I deeply enjoyed following the four vagabonds in their quest for home along the Gilead. Through their journey, we discover the Great Depression, and how people's lives were impacted, how people show resilience, help each other.
This summer odyssey was a great reading adventure. I loved Odie's stories along the pages. It's a great book about friendship, family, and about finding a place called home.
Well, the first box I‘m checking off for #bookspinbingo in 2022 is a bail! 😂 Frankly, I‘m not surprised. It‘s me, not the book. Child protagonists/adventure stories don‘t appeal to me and I only had this one because it was a BOTM BOTY pick. So off the shelf it goes!
Well, the first box I‘m checking off for #bookspinbingo in 2022 is a bail! 😂 Frankly, I‘m not surprised. It‘s me, not the book. Child protagonists/adventure stories don‘t appeal to me and I only had this one because it was a BOTM BOTY pick. So off the shelf it goes!
Another beautiful read from Krueger. The backdrop of the Indian boarding schools and the Great Depression are interwoven masterfully. Once again, there is a lot about God and pain and suffering, handled beautifully in my opinion. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Book 143
I listened to This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger. In the afterword the author mentions he wrote this as a modern story like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which was funny because I made that comparison while listening. It's jam-packed with the unbelievable adventures of a 12 year-old boy who escapes a boarding school and travels the country with friends in the 1920s. It's well-done and sweet, though not my usual style. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Current read - it's giving similar vibes to a recent read, The Lincoln Highway, although set a bit earlier, in 1932 with a younger cast of character.
Themes of land, tragedy, history, and beliefs about God. Well written and easy to get lost in.
The universe must be instructing me to give Krueger another go. It was supposed to be a month wait when I placed the hold. 🤔
August Rush 📽️ × The Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck) and/or The Four Winds (Hannah)
Took me a few chapters to pick up on the pacing but I'm both glad to have read it and equally haunted by yet another fictional childhood full of grief. I need to find a light read to balance out these heavy hitters.