Historical Fiction review: Hattie Big Sky

1.BIBLIOGRAPHY

Larson, Kirby. 2006. Hattie Big Sky. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN: 0385903324

2. PLOT SUMMARY

In 1917, while America was in a full swing involvement in the World War I against Germany, an orphaned 16 years old girl who had been bouncing back and forth from one cousin to another was living with her uncle and aunt as a charity case in Arlington, Iowa, the last in the series, received a letter from her deceased unknown uncle in Montana that she was an heir to his 320 acre claim. In January 1918, after receiving the letter, she decided to move out of the suppressive aunt’s behavior and ventured to be on her own, a homesteader. The homestead life was not a grand one but it was adventurous. In a blistering cold she arrived Montana to find out she had less than a year to cultivate and prove the land to win the claim. Through the harsh times, a kind German family Mueller and a few other neighbors helped make her life bearable. The World War I sentiments did not make things easier for her. The local anti-German had caused a lot of troubles for her and her neighbors. Hattie proved herself to be more mature than she was thought to be and won not only the admiration but also the fight though she finally lost the battle due to the big hailstorm destroying her crops.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The critical analysis would be presented base on characters, plot, setting, theme, as well as style.

Characters

Hattie was the protagonist of the story. She was just a simple 16 year old girl who had to weather through a lot of hardship and sentiments just like any common people like anyone else. She lived a realistic life through events, hardships and times with endurance to the end. Though the story was written in 2010, the author has depicted Hattie in a very vivid picture of a person in 1900s especially in the attitudes, the language used. The terms ‘chomps,’ ‘beau’ and others though sounded funny to today’s ears were real to the time.

Kirby Lawson has created a wonderful character in Hattie. She was a tough girl who was willing to work to make it on her own. But, Hattie is more than just determination--she's also kind and compassionate without being silly or sentimental. In 1918 Montana, anti-German sentiment was strong, yet Hattie stood up to her wild Montana neighbors and supported her friend Karl Mueller when he was attacked, both physically and verbally, for being German-born. Additionally, Hattie's feelings for her school friend, Charlie, who was away at the front, and whom Hattie might have fallen in love with, are true to character as you may find it in the following paragraph:

"So maybe I did spend a night now and then dreaming silly girl dreams about him, even though everyone knew he was sweet on Mildred. My bounce-around life had taught me dreams were dangerous things--they look solid in your mind, but you just try to reach for them. It's like gathering clouds."

Plot

The historical plot was presented very clearly and accurately. The accuracy of the timing during which America was very sentimental against ‘Huns’ was correct for that time period. The advent of ‘new bicycle,’ ‘motorcycle’ and automobiles like the ‘Touring’ were also timely. The presentation of historical facts or information was not overwhelming because they came in bits and pieces through out the story. On the contrary, it helped young readers to remember those facts easily through the narration Hattie made. For example, when Jim rode the new bicycle into the haystack and when he celebrated the armistice by riding throughout the homestead areas on his motorcycle.

Setting

The setting was very explicit and with full authenticity. The story started in Arlington, Iowa and moved on to Montana area stating the names of towns and places like Wolf Point, Montana and Vida. At the end of the story, it mentioned the move of the Muellers to Seattle, a place in Washington State, where there were a lot of German populations in the country at that time.

Theme

The historical them, the wartime struggle, was a very notable one. The morals of the time of the writing were almost as real as those of today’s; the sentiment against Germans versus the sentiment against the Muslims who have been terrorizing many different parts of the world. Besides the wars outside of the US being so parallel, the internal war was also comparable. The war sentiment towards the ‘enemy within—the Germans ‘Huns’ in the US in 1917-1918 and the sentiment towards the Muslims in the US in the present years. The lingering of the ‘short wars’, which were supposed to be short but had become lengthy and costly ones was also parallel to each other.

Style

The story style was woven together interestingly. The story employed configurative narration style with a lot of creativity in it. In almost every chapter, there would be a letter or pieces of the letters to either Charlie or Uncle Holt with the message within related to the narration Hattie was telling in the story. The author, besides narration, used a lot of dialogs to make the story active and vivid and full of interactions. One thing to observe was the fact that the story telling style made readers full of anticipation though the guesses often time was wrong. For example, the story would be narrated about the mob and I would think there would be a hanging of a ‘Hun lover’. Yet, it turned out positive through some interventions. The language itself is easy and appropriate for children age 12 as the author stated to be the intended audience. Yet the story captures also adult readers. The sentences were short. The messages were precise. The style was according to the time of the story.

In summary, the story is authentic. This in a way is possibly comparable to reading Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little Home in the Prairie though it is shorter and completed in one book. The story and resources were well researched and can be authenticated. City names like Wolf Point and Vida are real cities in Montana. The authenticity of the war sentiments during the time of 1917-1918 is also true. The readers, through reading the fiction will learn appropriate amount of historical events and information from the story, though not overwhelming but enough to rouse readers’ interest.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Newbery Honor Books 2007
Best Books for Young Adults ; 2007.
Children's Notable Books ; 2007.
Starred Review ”writing in figurative language that draws on nature and domestic detail to infuse her story with the sounds, smells, and sights of the prairie, she creates a richly textured novel full of memorable characters.”

5. CONNECTIONS

The fences between us: the diary of Piper Davis is the first connection book I found with similar war event in the setting. The story was portrayed that a 13-year-old Japanese American girl named Piper Davis Seattle went through the hard time at school after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Larson, Kirby. 2010. The fences between us: the diary of Piper Davis. New York: Scholastic. ISBN: 9780545224185

The other connection book I found is also a historical fiction book. The main character is similar to Hattie Brooks in Hattie Big Sky. The setting is around 20 century during the epidemic of 1918. Eleven-year-old Lydia Pierce and her fourteen-year-old brother are taken by their grieving uncle to be raised in the Shaker community at Sabbathday Lake after being orphaned. The story includes author's note about the Shakers.
Lowry, Lois. 2011. Like the willow tree: the diary of Lydia Amelia Pierce. New York: Scholastic. ISBN: 9780545144698