A Wilder Rose

by Susan Wittig Albert

[lovelybookshelf]

Originally posted on my blog, A Lovely Bookshelf on the Wall:

Like Jennifer at The Relentless Reader, I initially had reservations about reading A Wilder Rose. I didn't want my fond childhood memories of Little House on the Prairie shattered! After reading Jennifer's review, I decided to go ahead and give this book a try.

I'm so glad I did! The real story isn't as scandalous as I feared, and really, I think the mother-daughter collaboration was a wonderful thing. It did feel a bit odd, trying to reconcile the Laura Ingalls Wilder of this book with the Melissa Gilbert version in my mind. But in the end, I appreciated having a more realistic portrayal.

The book alternates perspectives, starting out with Rose Wilder Lane's student Norma Lee inquiring about her mentor's life. The narrative in these scenes felt a little too simple to me, almost like reading a middle-grade novel. It was fine, just not quite what I expected from a historical fiction novel geared toward adults. Then, as Rose told Norma Lee her story, the story shifts to a first person account, and those pages completely drew me in. I was thankful that Rose's perspective made up the bulk of the book.

The author does a phenomenal job expressing Rose's libertarian side as is - without spin - and we see clearly why Rose Wilder Lane is considered one of the "founding mothers of the American libertarianism movement." Thanks to this novel, I'm completely inspired to go read Rose Wilder Lane's work.

This book is a very satisfying read, and I think even those who aren't fans of Little House (if those even exist?!) would enjoy it.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.