Hattie Big Sky

Hattie, orphaned and farmed out to various relatives, is just about to be forced to leave school and take up tedious work at a local store when she learns she has inherited a 320 acre farm. The farm is not without conditions, however. Hattie is required by the terms of the homesteading agreement to fence the land and plant a crop. She soon learns it will take real gumption just to survive the bleak Montana winter. A community of other homesteaders helps Hattie as she tries to make it in a small cabin through the freezing winter. Newbery Honor.

I've gone back and forth on a 4 rating or 5 rating for this book but since it's been three days since I finished the book and I still can't stop thinking about it, I've got to give it the full five. I love this book. I love the characters and I am obsessed with the setting, both location and time period. At the end of the book, the author lists other books about homesteading and I intend to try out a few of them. I will definitely revisit this book some time.
I disagree with the publishers on the appropriate age level for this book. It's listed as a 5th grade reading level with an age range of 9-12. First, I do NOT think this is written on a 5th grade level, especially since the subject is something students will likely know very little about. (I did not even know what homesteading was until I read this book.) Second, most middle schoolers I know would probably be bored by this book unless they were history buffs. I think this book would appeal more to adult women who love history. I could be very wrong of course, and I hope there are classes of seventh graders cheering for this book.