The Year We Were Famous

Starred review from February 7, 2011
Debut author Dagg writes a captivating story about the determination of a mother and daughter, who in 1896 walked from Washington State to New York City. Bright, hard-working 17-year-old Clara dreads settling down with the steady but lackluster boy wooing her. Inspired by Nellie Bly's trip around the world, Clara's free-spirited but unreliable mother suggests that they walk nearly 4,000 miles to save their farm from foreclosure (a publisher offers them a $10,000 advance if they make it in seven months) and bring attention to the suffragist movement. Basing her story on the real-life journey her great-aunt and great-grandmother undertook, Dagg masterfully recreates the wild adventures and hardships the women faced, including encounters with Native Americans, a harrowing escape from a raging flood, and a frightening scuffle with a menacing attacker. The pages go by quickly, as the two must continually find food and shelter, relying on each other and the kindness of strangers to survive. The journey in itself is amazing, but Dagg's tender portrayal of a mother and daughter who learn to appreciate and forgive each other makes it unforgettable. Ages 12–up.

March 15, 2011
In danger of losing their farm and inspired by Nellie Bly's round-the-world feat, 18-year-old Clara Estby and her Norwegian immigrant mother, Helga, decide to walk from Mica Creek, near Spokane, Wash., to New York City, a projected May-to-December journey. A publisher has promised them $10,000 if they reach their destination on time. With just the clothes on their backs, a pistol and little else, the women must rely on the kindness of strangers and their own tenacity. When not lost in Idaho's lava fields, showing Indians in Utah how to use a curling iron, meeting just-elected President William McKinley or uncovering family secrets, they are avoiding rattle snakes, mountain blizzards and assailants. Quiet yet snappy Clara uses the time to decide whether she should marry Erick (who's already building their marriage bed) or try to make it on her own as a writer. Meanwhile, theatrical Helga uses each stop to promote her suffragist beliefs. Incredibly, the nearly 4,000-mile journey depicted in this debut is based on an actual trek taken by the author's great-aunt and great-grandmother to save their farm. Clara's first-person narration starts off strong with lively descriptions ("I was as jumpy as a colt smelling cougar scat") but rushes toward the end, as if trying to hurry up along with the women. Readers will enjoy the feminist adventures but crave more details. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 12 & up)

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May 1, 2011

Gr 6-10-Threatened with the loss of their family farm, Helga Estby hatches a highly unusual plan to walk from her small town near Spokane, WA, to New York City to earn a purse of $10,000 offered by an interested New York publisher. It is 1896 when Helga and her shy, 17-year-old daughter, Clara, start out on an unthinkable quest: two women alone, crossing thousands of miles with only $10 and the clothes on their backs. They confront a would-be attacker, Indians, flash floods, treacherous terrain, injury, and deprivation as they make their way across the nation. On their journey they share tales of their adventure with incredulous townspeople, protest for the right to vote, and experience the kindness of strangers. Foiled and disappointed at their destination, the women are not awarded the promised money, but a letter from home tells them that the sale of farm equipment has stayed the loss of their property for the coming year. Helga and Clara decide to spend that time writing a book from the copious journals they kept while traveling. Family secrets are revealed along the way, and Clara blossoms from a quiet, unsure girl into a confident adventurer and writer-in-training. Based on a true (if sketchy) account of the author's great-aunt and great-grandmother, this is an engaging and emotionally compelling tale. Fully realized characters and vivid descriptions of the natural world and physical challenges on their journey capture readers' empathy and attention and make for a very satisfying read.-Karen Elliott, Grafton High School, WI

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2011
Grades 7-10 Desperate to save her familys farm from foreclosureand to show that women can make a differenceClara, 17, tells how she and Ma walk nearly 4,000 miles across the U.S., from Spokane, Washington, to New York City, in 1896. A newspaper has offered them $10,000 if they can accomplish their journey within seven months. Based on the true story of the authors great-grandmother and great-aunt, this debut novel is both a realistic survival adventure, filled with exciting escapes from snakes, cougars, storms, and gangsters, and a step-by-step account of the womens struggle through heat, dust, and rain25 miles a day, which is 50,000 steps, adding up to 8 million steps to New York. Those steps can make for slow reading, and a subplot about Claras discovery of family secrets is undeveloped. The novels best drama comes from Clara and Mas realistic, scrappy relationship, as well as Claras passionate support for the suffragists and her determination to prove that women can get across the country without a man at their side.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

May 1, 2011
In 1889 female journalist Nellie Bly completed an around-the-world voyage, a feat that narrator Clara Estby finds impressive. Poppycock, scoffs Clara's mother, Helga, an independent and resourceful Norwegian American: "Nellie Bly had it easy...What if a woman -- without any help -- walked on her own two feet clear across the country?" To save the family farm, that's just what Helga and seventeen-year-old Clara set out to do. Helga makes a ten-thousand-dollar bet with a publisher that mother and daughter can trek from their Washington State home to New York City in seven months, beginning in May 1896. Skilled at self-promotion, Helga prints up some cartes de visite, and the two head off, following the railroad tracks and stopping at every newspaper office that will print their story. The text is a series of journal entries written by Clara recording events and charting the number of days walked. Its pacing is spot-on: some chapters rush determinedly ahead, others are more scenic and meandering, while others still are slow as molasses (when Clara sprains her ankle, for example, readers feel each excruciating step). Dagg's novel is based on the true adventures of her great-grandmother and great-aunt, making the characters that much easier to root for. Pulse-pounding encounters -- outlaws! rattlers! flash floods! -- will leave readers invigorated and inspired by the determination of two courageous pioneer women. elissa gershowitz

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)