I found this book to be intriguing. While I found Charlotte to be a little too whiney at times, I liked how the author used that to give you an understanding of the family dynamic. This book is full of teenage angst. There were parts where I wanted to smack the mother and Charlotte but mostly I understood where they all were coming from. I think this book would be good for anyone who is struggling to fit in.

*I received a copy of Laura Ingalls is Ruining My Life from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.*


Happy Review Day here on Dr. Hodges Reads! Today, I am reviewing an advanced copy of Laura Ingalls is Ruining My Life by Shelley Tougas. This book will be released on October 10, 2017!

To begin, I want to say that the reason I requested this title is because I am a huge fan of the Little House series. When I was in 2nd grade, I began reading these books and could not get enough of them. I remember being proud of myself for tackling such a large book (these topped out over 300 pages, y'all), and how many feelings I had while I read. The perils of the prairie and the sacrifices the Ingalls family made kept me coming back for more.

Once I finished the series, the love of reading was deeply ingrained in me, and I needed more books. This sparked a rush on reading the classics of the time - The Wizard of Oz, A Little Princess, The Secret Garden, and Little Women. I believe many of these books shaped me as a reader and truly helped foster my love of reading.

In Laura Ingalls is Ruining My Life, we meet Charlotte Lake. Charlotte and her family are nomads, constantly moving to new cities for her mother's passion. Charlotte's mother wants to be a published author and wants to write a book about Laura Ingalls, who was inspirational to her as a child. Charlotte is embarrassed by her mother's obsession and frustrated at always having to start a new school and new life. She never feels like she fits in anywhere. To complicate her life more, she has a twin brother who has taken a vow of silence, since he feels his voice is not being heard in the moves, and a younger sister who is perfect. Charlotte struggles to make friends and find her niche among so many moves.

The family has now relocated to Walnut Grove, one of the places Laura Ingalls grew up. It houses a Laura Ingalls museum that hosts an essay contest each year. In a spark of brilliance, Charlotte decides to enter the contests and win the grand prize of $500. She knows this money will change her family's life and maybe help her mother put down some roots. As the contest deadline nears, Charlotte becomes very ill with the flu and misses over a week of school, and time to create her essay. At the last moment, she furiously scribbles out the line, "Laura Ingalls is ruining my life," and turns that in as her essay. Her clever teacher reads this and probes Charlotte to write more and dig deeper, which she does.

I won't spoil whether Charlotte wins or loses and what happens next...you'll have to read yourself. Overall, I found the book to be sweet and very appropriate for elementary readers. I also think this would make a fun read-aloud, as the problems Charlotte faces are typical of elementary children. While my love for Laura Ingalls runs deep, this was a difficult book for me to review, so I'm going to approach this review from two perspectives.

As a child who grew up loving Laura Ingalls, this was an amazing read. I really enjoyed getting to see the Little House books from the perspective of Charlotte's mother. She is the child, like me, who grew up reading and loving these books. I liked getting to see a new generation fall in love with this series and see how the new generation questions the books. Charlotte completes a social studies unit in school that focuses on the native tribes during the Ingalls pioneering journey. I also liked the references to the books, which made me remember details I hadn't thought about in a while.

As an educator, I'm not sure who to recommend this book to. One phenomenon I see now is revitalizing classics with retellings or inspired books such as this one. However, a person who grew up reading Little House is not the intended audience, it's kids today. I would only want a child who had read the Little House books to read this book, because there are spoilers (such as Mary going blind). I wouldn't want those to be spoiled for a child who might read the series. At the same time, this book is intended for a young, elementary audience. I don't think an older child who read the Little House books would enjoy this book because the problems the character faces are very much at the elmentary school level.

In short, I liked this book and would definitely want it in my classroom and in the hands of kids. However, I would be pretty selective on who I recommended this book to and at what point I gave this book to a child. If the spoilers to the Little House books were removed, I think this could be a great gateway to that series.

I gave this 4/5 stars on Goodreads! Happy Reading!

As someone who was obsessed with Laura Ingalls, this situation would have been a dream come true. Not so much for young Charlotte who only wants a settled, normal life.

This story is about Charlotte who lives with her mom, her twin brother Freddy (who has a hearing impairment) and her half sister Rose. They have moved to Walnut Creek, Minnesota because her mother wants to write a book inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Charlotte is a very negative thinker and she explains why several times (kids have been mean to her). Charlotte opens up a bit and starts to make friends but something bad happens and she wonders if she'll ever trust anyone again. This was an ok story and it certainly makes strong point about how thinking positively can help you move forward. I just didn't enjoy it very much.

Does a nice job connecting the past and present without being preachy or too dry. Charlotte believably transforms from an untrusting child into someone willing to take chances and make friends. Readers will feel her struggle to hope that her family will finally stay put somewhere. And that her mother will settle into a quiet and stable life.

The Lake family is on the move again. This time they end up in Walnut Grove, Minnesota because mom feels the spirit of Laura Ingalls calling her. Mom is a writer and plans on writing a book about the prairie just like Laura Ingalls. Charlotte and her twin brother Freddy as well as little sister Rose are along for the ride. They move into the basement of Mia and Miguel and their granddaughter Julia. Charlotte thinks of Julia as a Nellie Olsen. Charlotte is so used to moving and being the new kid that she doesn't bother learning people's names or making friends. She doesn't need to as she has Freddy. Then she is sick the first week of school and when she gets back Freddy has become Red Fred the super popular kid. Now Charlotte is the only outsider.

The local Laura museum is holding a essay contest. Charlotte's entry is on how Laura Ingalls is ruining her life. She doesn't win, Julia does, but she ends up volunteering at the museum anyway. She learns that Julia isn't so bad and neither are a lot of the other kids at school. As Charlotte and Freddy start settling down in Walnut Grove, mom and Rose are struggling. Mom changed her book plan to be about Mars instead of the prairie to be more marketable and has written nothing. She has fallen into a depression where she rarely leaves the house or showers. Rose is also struggling because her dad is getting remarried and not spending as much time with her. Things come to a tipping point when the Laura museum is vandalized and Charlotte is accused.

I found this book oddly touching. Charlotte's story is one a lot of kids can relate to. She is scared of being the new kid, she is scared she is losing her brother who has been her constant companion, she is scared of finding a home and having it taken away from her. Everything seems to be very realistically portrayed. I thought Charlotte's attitude was very well done as was her mom's depression. I also really enjoyed learning more about Laura Ingalls' life and life on the prairie during that time period. While Charlotte is hiding at school she given an assignment by her teacher to read articles during lunch. The articles are all about the transcontinental railroad and westward expansion and the consequences of those things. It is enlightening to both Charlotte and the reader. My quibbles with the book were a couple of adult characters' actions when Charlotte is accused of the vandalism. They seemed very over-the-top and perhaps not true to life. I thought the principle would definitely know better than to act like he did and the police officer just seemed to be there to cause tension in the novel. The other thing that got a little repetitive was Charlotte's way of illustrating that she didn't remember people or things from the other places they lived. She would say things like "Emma, or was it Maddy" over and over again. Got it the first time, didn't need it the next dozen times. Other than that I really enjoyed this book.

I received this book from Netgalley.

What a terrific middle grade novel! Charlotte is a realistic character who is dealing with some instability in her family life. The touches of humor make this a book I will certainly recommend to our middle grade readers in our library.

The main character, to me, seemed really whiny and really shallow. The prose seemed to repeat itself over and over again. While the story was a good concept the writing could be better. .

This was a nice easy read. Kids will be able to relate to the characters and the struggles they face. I really enjoyed this book.

Charlotte, her twin brother Freddy and sister Rose have spent their lives bouncing from town to town as their loving but flakey mother struggles to find something elusive in her life. With each new residence comes a new school and a new set of peers to navigate. Rose aways finds her way as her outgoing personality assures her a new set of best friends. Unfortunately, Charlotte and Freddy have learned harder lessons about fitting in, experiencing ridicule and bullying. Since they know each move is temporary they have come to rely on each other and avoid socializing with children who will no longer be part of their lives when they move on.

All of their lives begin to change when they move to Walnut Grove Minnesota, home of Laura Ingalls where their mother feels the spirit of Laura will guide her to write a best-selling children's book. Charlotte and Freddy grow apart as Freddy learns to make friends and socialize. Left behind, Charlotte struggles with her place at school and at home. For the first time Charlotte and Rose grow closer and she eventually makes some friends. As time passes the family must learn to accept each other as they grow and make a decision about what living in Walnut Grove can teach them.

I really enjoyed this book! It included information about the original Laura Ingalls Wilder books along with its own original story. Charlotte and her family move constantly and it is very hard making and keeping friends. The development of the siblings along with the mom and their individual relationships with each other are very believable and realistic. I will definitely be purchasing this novel for my classroom. Along with the sibling rivalry issues the book also has a mystery that must be solved. Could Charlotte really have defaced the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum? I would recommend this book for grades 4-8. It took me back to the Little House on the Prairie books I loved as a young reader.

Charlotte, her siblings & single mom move constantly. Each of the children deal with it differently. Mom always looks on the bright side teaching the children to do the same. They move to Walnut Creek, MN one of the locations of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books so Mom can write a book. The adventures of the family are very believable and current; cell phones, texting & computers. Thank you Net Galley for this advance copy. This book was entertaining and would especially be enjoyed by preteen girls and anyone who has ever read & enjoyed "little house" books.

As a Little House fan I enjoyed this! The characters living in Walnut Grove, visiting Plum Creek, and working at the museum brought the Laura connection to life. However, all was not lighthearted. Several of the children in the book struggled to deal with absent parents and the difficult realities of the westward expansion of the United States was also touched on. Overall, I recommend the book as a good learning experience for young readers.

This will post on my blog on 10/11/17.

E ARC from Netgalley.com

Charlotte, her twin brother Freddy and half sister Rose are dragged from their home in Lexington, Kentucky to live in Walnut Grove, Minnesota because their mother is feeling called to write a book similar to the ones written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Charlotte's mother has always written but had other jobs, but has recently had a biography of Dr. Seuss published, and has enough money to write full time. The family rents out the basement of a house owned by Mia and Miguel, who live upstairs with their granddaughter, Julia. Charlotte has moved so many times that she is reluctant to learn the names of her fellow classmates or draw any attention to herself. After she is out sick at the very beginning of school, she starts to notice that her brother has made a lot of friends in her absence. Charlotte, however, is still uncomfortable and even fails a reading test so that she has to spend her lunch time doing remedial work. She hopes to win an essay contest about Wilder because the $500 would be helpful to her family, but Julia wins instead. The two girls start to volunteer at the Wilder museum, and start to become friends. Charlotte's mother is writing very little, and as the year progresses, starts to slip into a significant depression. Rose's father remarries, and Rose is devastated that he no longer schedules any of their visits together. When there is vandalism at the museum, Charlotte is blamed, but the real perpetrator is not any of the people who are suspected. Will Charlotte's family be able to stay in Walnut Grove, where they are beginning to feel at home, or will they have to move again?
Strengths: Aside from the thing that I found cool-- living in a town where Ingalls lived-- this had some factors that would appeal to middle grade readers. Being a new kid in a school is always a concern, and even students who have spent their whole lives in the same place worry about this a little bit. Charlotte's detachment is understandable and realistic, and her brothers success without her adds an interesting twist. I enjoyed the fact that Julia was at first painted as a "Nellie Olsen" character, but once Charlotte gets to know her, the two become friends. Rose's relationship with her absent father is well done. The mother's depression is not too dramatic. This was a quick read that kept up a good pace even though there was not a lot of action.
Weaknesses: There are a couple of times when the main objection to the original Wilder books (the treatment and discussion of Native Americans) could have been addressed, but was not given quite the attention that is needed. There is an interesting fact about language in the first edition where Wilder wrote "...there were no people. Only Indians lived there." but further printings, the word "people" was replaced with "settlers". Still, this is a large and ongoing objection to the books, and one that really should have been addressed more fully.
What I really think: My students won't read Wilder at all, and therefore would not be sold by the cover or title. While I was a huge fan of the books, I agree that they are problematic and do not recommend them, although I have not removed them from my library collection. At this point, I would be all for amending or removing the references to Native Americans in the narrative if the books could then be read as a first person exploration of the pioneer experience.