This was an incredibly sad story, but so beautifully written. It is set in 1932, during the Great Depression. In the end notes, the author states that the backdrop of this story is the great depression and incidents were realistic. It was a hard and terrible time for many, but worst on families. The main characters of this story were all orphans, who were forced to flee after one of them commits a crime. Brothers Odie and Albert Obanian, a Sioux mute named Mose and young girl named Emmy all head off down the Gilead River heading to St. Louis. They call themselves vagabonds, as they have no home and the only family is each other.

The story begins at a Residential School in Lincoln, Nebraska. These schools were opened to take Native American children away from their parents and "civilize them" meaning strip them of their culture and heritage. As we know now, there was a lot of abuse at these schools, physical, mental and emotional. Odie and Albert end up there when their parents die and there is no room at the orphanage. The only white faces in the institution. When Odie commits a crime, the boys decide to leave, and Emmy asks to go with them. She does not want to stay with the "Black Witch". The problem is that with Emmy accompanying them, they are labeled as kidnappers and are constantly being pursued. This is their adventure. This is their search for home.

Odie narrates this story when he is in his 80s and it is quite the story. As they travel by canoe down the river, we see what life was like during the depression. They meet a lot of people along the way, some good, some not so good, but they all add much to this story. This intrepid group of travelers use their wits and instincts to keep safe, take care of each other and get out of some sticky situations. They are constantly looking over their shoulders for the Brinkmans or someone who the Brinkmans might have sent. I loved seeing them change and grow as their adventure unfolds. They had a lot of decisions to make that should not have been put on the shoulders of anyone this young. This book is beautifully written with so many descriptions that I loved. The metaphors used to describe this life and time allow the reader to easily picture what the characters are seeing and feeling. Riding the rails, Hoovervilles, and a traveling healing show, are some historical happenings during this time period that are all woven into this story. All I can say is to read this book. I do not normally read longer books, but after reading these 450 pages, I still wanted more about this group of intrepid travelers. A wonderful reading experience.

A retelling of Tom Sawyer? I expected more after the great Ordinary Grace. Still well written and a good story.

BOOK REVIEW: This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

Genre: Fiction / Historical Fiction

T.I.M.E. Favorite ✨😎✨
Book Club Favorite

Set in the Depression Era…

Centers on four orphan children who are forced on the run from Minnesota, who get on the river in a canoe (!) and travel all the way down to the Mississippi River trying to escape.

Along the way is an epic tale of Americana folklore, music and an absolute love letter to the healing power of storytelling.

It's absolutely wonderful x 10!

Each character overcomes obstacle after obstacle that completely tests their physical, mental, and spiritual limits.

This Tender Land was actually my first William Kent Krueger… But since then, I've become a big fan of his Cork O'Connor Mystery Series as well.

Take it from me… This Tender Land is a modern American classic. And your bookshelf is not complete without a copy.

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
2019 Original Book Release
2020 Paperback Book Release | May

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All my reviews can be seen at This Is My Everybody | Books & DIY Home Ideas | Denise Wilbanks at www.thisismyeverybody.com ... Including my video tutorials for DIY home ideas inspired by recommended books to support you in bringing your favorite books to life in your life and home.

You can see my full review for This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger at https://www.thisismyeverybody.com/books/books-to-read-next-characters-who-overcome-obstacles


✨😎✨A big thank you to William Kent Krueger, Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in my review are my own.

I have read everything this author publishes, but this one stands alone. It is a wonderful story with twists and turns sure to keep you guessing. The characters are so real I felt as though I actually knew them and throughout the story are the pieces of wisdom for which the author is known. I highly recommend this book and you don't have to read the author's other books to enjoy this one. I have recommended it to all my friends and so far everyone has agreed with my assessment.

I loved this book! The only regret that I have is that I didn't read it sooner! I fell in love with Odie immediately! He is an orphan along with his brother, confined to the Lincoln Indian Training School. After the are forced to leave because of a terrible crime, he and his brother along their good friend Mose leave to find a place of their own. They pick up Emmy, a four year old orphan that so desperately needs to go with them. Their journey is not easy and there are so many lessons learned in this book. I loved this book from start to finish. so many adventures and heartbreaks in this book, I can't wait to read more of William Kent Krueger!

I purchased the audio version of this book and it was an engrossing tale of 4 young people who escape an abusive life in a 1930s Indian School. I knew of these schools already, but this story really brought their abuses to the forefront. It also reflects heavily on how difficult life was for people trying to farm during the Depression era. As with all Krueger books, the characters are unique and realistic, and the description of the rural heartland is breathtaking. You can truly visualize this story as you read it, and empathize with the plight of these four children. I highly recommend this book!

4.5*
Krueger once again uses Minnesota as the setting for this story of young boys on an odyssey, much like Homer’s Odysseus. Two orphan brothers befriend a Native American boy when they are sent to the Lincoln School. It’s the 1930’s and times are tough with the Depression. The Lincoln School is where Native children are sent to be educate but the people who run the facility are heatless and cruel. Odie and his brother Albert, who are not Native Americans, get sent there after the death of their parents. The school is reminiscent of the similar institutions from Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys or even the detention camp from Sachar’s Holes.

Odie is the one who bucks the rules. He spends much of his time locked up in a box as punishment. The brothers run away with their Native friend and a little girl who has suddenly become an orphan. The foursome are on a quest to find the only family Odie and Albert know, an aunt who will hopefully take them in. Like all good journey tales, the children encounter dangerous people and the constant threat that the Lincoln School managers are hot on their trail. The trip down the river brings to mind the travels of Huck Finn.

Kreuger creates a landscape that is vibrant and powerful. His characters pulse with vitality and are endearing in their determination and loyalty to one another. The writing is beautiful and the plot is carefully crafted. Odie and his friends’ journey open the eyes of each of them to the harsh realities of the world and the importance of being true to oneself and supportive of your friends. A moving tale of discovery and survival.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, Atria Books and NetGalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Mr. Krueger's novel This Tender Land is an amazing book. His words are lush and vibrant. Visual in description, his words carry you off the page and into the setting. The experiences of the children are heartfelt and very real. I can't really talk about it, for fear of spoilers, but I loved this book from beginning to end.

5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

Five stars are not enough for this book - it deserves a lot more!!! This is the first book I've read by William Krueger, and I am now a fan and can't wait to read his other books. The reader will fall in love with the main characters - Albert, Odie, Moses & Emmy - and will not forget their adventures and the people they meet along the way.

William Kent Kruger comes through with another great book outside his terrific Cork O'Connor series. THIS TENDER LAND is a journey that compares favorably to mind Mark Twain.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for the early copy!

I've tried to read this netgalley arc/BOTM novel for a while now but cannot get into it. Historical fiction is not a genre that I enjoy, I am dnfing it and passing on my copy to someone who will enjoy it!

This was a very good book with characters you want to root for. Dragged a bit at the end but overall was a fun read and would absolutely recommend it to others.

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger is about children - four orphans - in the harshest and more dire of circumstances. It is an epic story of one summer that seems to extend so far beyond the time period it covers. For its horrific events, the story has at the same time an almost idyllic and philosophical feel. The result is a haunting tale of the dark history of the treatment of Native Americans and at the same time of the resilience of children and the joy of creating a family.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2020/03/this-tender-land.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

An adventure story, a coming-of-age tale, a quest narrative, this admittedly nicely written novel just didn’t work for me. It’s had many positive reviews but I found it too long and ultimately unconvincing. It opens in 1932 at The Lincoln School, Minnesota, a cruel and abusive school for Native American children who have been removed from their families. It’s also home to orphans Odie O’Banion and his brother Albert. A series of events compel them to run away, taking another two inmates with them. The novel relates their adventures on the road over one unforgettable summer. I enjoyed the start of the book, with its vivid and disturbing portrait of life at the school, but once the children had made their escape I lost interest. They meet a motley crew of characters on their journey, most of whom seemed stereotypical to me rather than fully fledged characters – the farmer, the evangelist etc. Too sentimental, too saccharine, with spiritual platitudes that seemed very heavy-handed, the children’s search for safety in Depression-era Minnesota just sprawled on for far too long. A harmless tale, but one that didn’t hold my attention.

A solid historical fiction read with a lovely ending. I would not hesitate to read by more by this author.

This Tender Land was absolutely phenomenal!! I see it rising above books as one that changed the force of literature for the future.

It opened up horrors of past history, while at the same time showing loyalty and friendship in its multiple forms as brothers try to reach family down the Mississippi River. It described life that many during the Great Depression lived through, often at the expense of their families.

I enjoyed it so much, that I also purchased the book from Book of the Month!

I really love Krueger and have fallen in love with most of his book right from the get go. However, this one just felt too incredibly sad right from the get go. Maybe it was the fact that it dealt with children, but I just couldn't read it without crying.

Recommended! THIS TENDER LAND by William Kent Krueger is an adventure story with all the key features I enjoy. I’m drawn to historical books about orphans, as well as Native American history. But even with my preconceived expectations, I was continually surprised by this novel by a new-to-me author.

The book begins with Odie O’Banion and his brother Albert describing a jail they’re in for the night. The fact that they’re only children makes no difference to the evil woman who runs this boarding school for Native American children. Odie is eight and wise beyond his years. Albert is four years older and less likely to get into trouble as much as Odie. They’re also the only two white kids here. That Odie decides that “God is a Tornado” in the first few chapters pretty much describes their torn apart lives.

There are a couple nice adults in this school, who are mostly powerless to the whims of the malicious female superintendent. Several evil characters force the children through all kinds of atrocities including starvation, solitary confinement, beatings, and rape. They’re also forced to labor at neighboring farms in the hot sun with little to eat or drink.

It was easy to fall into this book for hours. It’s the good vs. evil aspect that tugged at my heart, making me hope for their salvation. I had anticipated more Native American characters and details, but Odie and his brother and friends captured my heart. I love books about those with no hope who take a chance to find a life wherever they land. The reader guesses early on that these friends won’t stay in this school forever. They’ll run the first chance they get, and they do.

Four children running for freedom make this exciting, sad, engaging, and heartwarming. I did worry about Odie’s soul. Will he grow into the man he admires, with so much violence forced within his hands? I couldn’t wait to see where their adventure took them next.

A lot of what these kids endure isn’t for the faint of heart. But like all tough, streetwise kids, they push forward, hoping for a better life. They’re scrappers and that’s what gives this story heart.

I especially enjoyed their time with a tent revival healing crusade. The musicians and Sister Eve were fascinating. Especially since Odie and Albert struggle with their faith, doing what they have to in order to stay safe and alive. Emmy’s special power and Mose’s limitations round out these vagabonds.

The friends grow up and apart, yet still together. Their school of hard knocks is worse than some and better than others. Who to trust? Will they ever find a place to call home?

Some of their experiences seem far-fetched, but I loved them anyways. These children will fill your heart and soothe your soul. When I read the author’s intention that this book be an “update of Huckleberry Finn,” and that he loves Charles Dickens, then it all made sense. This book has some key features of those adventure stories I loved as a kid, and they haven’t grown old for me as an adult.

THIS TENDER LAND is a whopper of a story taking place in 1932, made possible by an entertaining storyteller. Through Odie we get to know author William Kent Krueger, the ultimate storyteller. It’s a story within a story, which is a fun concept. I enjoyed it from beginning to end, including all the extras the author included to allow us into his process. I was captivated just as much the second time I read it, so I have a feeling that just like Huckleberry Finn, this will become a classic.

Review by Dorine, courtesy of TheZestQuest.com.

This a wonderful and sweeping piece of historical fiction. In fact, the breadth of this work is so wide that you could easily place it in several genres. There are pieces of mystery, suspense, and magical realism. Krueger clearly did his research to write this book as it is intricately detailed and paints a clear picture of both the story and the historical aspects that surround it. It is just fantastic.

“God is a tornado.”

Odie and Albert are orphans, the only two Caucasian children at the hellish Lincoln School in Minnesota, which is primarily a boarding school for American Indian children. The year is 1932, and the Depression is in full swing. As things unravel, the two brothers sneak away, together with a mute Indian friend and a small girl whose parents have recently perished during a storm; the odyssey on which they embark raises questions for all of them about what they believe about themselves and the natures of God and man. My thanks go to Net Galley and Atria Books for the review copy. This book is for sale now.

This is the first of this author’s work that I have seen, and it’s clear that he is one gifted individual. At the same time, however, this is not easy to read. The first fifteen to twenty percent is brutal. There are triggers all over the place including sexual assault, child abuse, and both put together. I read only a few pages at a time because more would have wrecked my head, and I never let it be the last printed material my eyes saw before bed. Those that soldier through the beginning can be assured that the worst is over, although there are many other passages in which Odie, Albert and friends are tried severely. For me, though, it was worth it.

The get-away trip takes them down the mighty rivers of the North American interior. There’s a lot of rich historical detail along the way, and it will be especially interesting for those unaware of the culture that existed before anyone in America had food stamps, or subsidized housing, or a social worker, or compulsory education. There was no safety net of any kind; people existed at each other’s mercy. The travelers meet all sorts of interesting people, but when others get too close or ask too many questions, they leave rather than be identified. Albert points out that others are often untrustworthy, and that those we love are often taken from us; he says that if God is a shepherd, He must be the sort that eats his flock. But a man that hires them to do farm labor says that God is in the land, the air, the trees, and in each person.

Ultimately the journey is a search for home, for family, and for a role in the world. The original destination is St. Louis, Missouri, where Odie and Albert’s families live, but as they make their way toward it, they find out that there is more than one kind of family, and more than one kind of home.

Highly recommended to those that love the genre and have robust literacy skills.