I can't get enough of this author, I wish she'd written more books. Again for me this was Alaska-esque (although not set in AK). Made me really interested in Homesteading-not literally, as in want to actually do it-but still I'd like to think I could! I can't believe what people went through, even though it's about somehting I can't relate too, I still really related to their hopes and struggles. Great characters.

The novel takes place in the white pine forests of the Idaho panhandle. The inchoate National Forest Service is opposed to homesteaders who plan to live six months on their land, sell it to a lumber company for a profit, who intend to log the forests for an even greater profit.

The characters are well-drawn: a John Muir-ish wanderer; a young woman who discovers a strength she never before possessed; a French-Canadian lumberjack; a strikingly beautiful and manipulative woman and the men who desire her; a milliner spinster who leaves her thriving business to speculate on a homestead, an old-school ranger who loves his dog.

Tragedy seems to pervade all of Brink's adult novels. I didn't experience the warm satisfaction of a feel-good ending; but the writing provoked me to many imaginings of my own ability to survive in a homestead built in the forest clearing. And I find that Carol Ryrie Brink's writing is its own reward.

Recommended to anyone interested in early Forest Service history, Idaho novels, or Carol Ryrie Brink fans.

This quote tickled me:
"After a while the air in the cabin reeked with the close relaxation of men who had spent an active day in the open." Page 57

There's a reason this author is much better known for her (excellent) children's books. Brink wants to bring alive the conservation movement of the early twentieth century, but her characters fail to come to life. In particular, the first character introduced, Bundy Jones, seems to have no personality or thoughts whatsoever. The elements for a good story were there (women homesteaders, Idaho forests, love), but it never came together. Think I'll stick with her more well-known works in the future.

Not a bad book, but old-fashioned. Very heavy with exposition and a story based on character development and history rather than plot made the book slow. Not bad--there were some fabulous aphorisms, and I got a lot out of the reading. The ending was quite dramatic and lovely--I felt like I was reading Jane Austen in a way. Not sure I'll pick up another of her books, but I got a lot out of this one.

Good adventure but bogged down with too many soap operatic twists

Interesting that some things (like the question of the fate of the western white pine) have really not changed in 100 years.

At first I thought this was boring but then I did end up enjoying it more by the end. The best was her insight into western life/culture. Some perfect observations that I’d say still ring true today.

I found this book to be extremely well written and engaging, however, I was rather surprised that, once again, Carol Ryrie Brink built up such characters and got me so caught up in the story and then, BAM! Started killing them. However, this book had a much more satisfying ending and I do think it turned out to be all's well that ends well.

I love this author and this book! It was first published in 1959 and republished in 1993, but is timeless in its telling. The exploitation of natural resources is nothing new and Carol Ryrie Brink has done a masterful job of writing both sides of story while her descriptive narrative gives life to the characters and the wildness of their surroundings.
This is the second of her books I have read, the first being Buffalo Coat (also excellent). And there is a third book in this trilogy that I will be tracking down to read. I believe they are all loosely based on people in her life and stories that her relatives passed on to her. Well worth the read!

A well written story about real life circumstances that shaped the Pacific Northwest in the early 1900s. The characters were interesting and the ending was satisfying as well.

Marilyn recommended this--after living in the place where it was written. The book helped my understand Nate & Marilyn's North Idaho experience more.

The author scores with me again with an outstanding novel with all of the elements a good novel should have. I would recommend this to anyone liking novels of 30-40 years ago. I got so engossed that I finished it within a day and a half. This novel is about early 20th Century homesteaders in the White Pine Forest of Northern Idaho. Each person has an agenda of his/her own. Pitted against the homesteading in this non-agricultural landscape is a representative of the National Forest Service. What happens when he gets to know these people personally? Read to find out. All of Ms. Brink's novels went out of print and then some were reprinted by Washington State University Press. Outside of the Pacific Northwest these novels might be difficult to find in libraries. They are available on Amazon.com: used from $6.96 up, new from about $10.00 up.