MMGM review: Sweet Home Alaska, by Carole Estby Dagg

Terpsichore (named after the muse of dance) Johnson is tired of being known as "the only unmusical Johnson," but when her father moves the family to Alaska as part of President Roosevelt's plan to colonize the territory, she hopes to make a new start for herself: as the girl who can find a million uses for pumpkin, or the girl who starts a library in the town of colonists' tents, or the girl who grows the biggest vegetable in the Alaska Territory. She loves living the pioneer life like her hero, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and nothing, from living in a leaky tent to washing dirty diapers in a pail, can get her down. Her mother, however, is a different story--and if Terpsichore can't convince her mother to love Alaska as much as she does, her exciting and fulfilling pioneer experiences will come to an end.

I absolutely loved Sweet Home Alaska. Carole Estby Dagg re-created the life of the Palmer, Alaska colonists in a brilliantly crafted novel that is old-fashioned in the best sense of the word. Somewhat episodic in style, it is reminiscent of Laura Ingalls Wilder's stories (appropriately), but also of L. M. Montgomery or Maud Hart Lovelace. What struck me most was that it doesn't fit into the typical plot format of character-with-a-driving-need-sets-out-on-a-careful-journey-to-get-X. Not that that format is bad; it works beautifully, and that's why you see it so much. But a character who can go through a whole series of wants and needs, with her main goal serving more as an overarching background than a totally penetrating plot device, was really refreshing and interesting.

And of course you know I'm going to love a book about a [relatively] modern girl learning to live resourcefully and finding the beauty of a way of life less dependent upon technology. Probably I'm reading into that more than the author intended, but I can't help noticing the way Terpsichore's family becomes closer when they all learn to work together with their hands, helping each other and relying on each other for everything from labor to entertainment. A subtle message, maybe, but a very important one that I hope to share with my own family.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Goodreads in exchange for an honest review. I love when my honest reviews get to be gushing, like in this case. Those are my favorite ones to write! :)

Second disclaimer: I'm an Amazon affiliate, so if you purchase the book after clicking over to Amazon through the cover image, I will get a small percentage of the sale. (Better yet, support your local bookstore by buying it there!)

To see what other great middle grade books bloggers are talking about for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, visit Shannon Messenger's Blog: http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/