The final volume of Laura’s story may be shorter than previous ones, but it manages to conclude her story in a solemn tone. Like she did with her family, Laura and Almanzo face many events of hardship that will test them, but also a few happy surprises during their first few years. In the end, an incredible and triumphant story of a pioneer girl. A (100%/Outstanding)

Book 11 of healing my inner child except that I’m actually just wounding my outer adult. This book made me realize that Laura and Almanzo were married for 64 years and that led me down a rabbit trail of google and Laura didn’t see her Ma for 20 years and then Ma died. Two of Laura’s three children died. Mary died while she was visiting her little sister Carrie. Laura outlived all of her sisters.

It was this far into my google spiral that Miranda told me I had to stop making myself cry. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Having read On the Way Home and West from Home, this book directly reflects Laura's writing style. I can see that Rose's editing helped inject some dialogue and more interesting structure to the other books in the Little House series. Although this book was very interesting in the details of Laura and Manly's first four years of marriage, it was rather dry and duller reading by comparison. Oh, boy, I could certainly relate to the perils of farming and your dependence upon the weather, etc. And poor Laura! Accidentally burning down their sweet little house! Losing a child. Though she and Manly just keep fighting the necessary battles to survive and hope to thrive in the years ahead.

By far the weakest of the series. Perhaps it's deserving of a higher rating, because it's basically a draft that Laura didn't complete before her death. But it was just so much more bleak than the other books. Probably closer to reality...but still bleak, which isn't in character with the rest of the books. Laura and Manly just couldn't catch a break! Still, I enjoyed it, and it was a quick read. Now that I've completed my reread I'm looking forward to reading Caroline (a book from Ma's perspective) and Prairie Fires (pulitzer prize winning nonfiction)!

Ligesom de andre bøger er denne også god, men da den er skrevet udfra efterladte papirer bliver den også noget forceret og man mangler noget af den dybde som de forrige bøger er præget af. Men hold op hvor er det en trist fortælling om konstant modgang..

Does anything ever grow on this prairie? It's one thing after another - blizzards, tornadoes, heat, prairie fires, hail. Any thing kills the crops.

The most depressing installment of all. Laura seems to only take pleasure in running outside, riding horses and sometimes her daughter. Definitely NOT any kind of housework.

But I think I will end up reading everything Laura Ingalls Wilder has ever written.

January 2022 reread, audiobook.
Like many (most?) other readers, I did not care for this when I first read it as a conclusion to the Little House stories. When I approach it as a standalone draft of an adult novel Laura was writing about her early married life, I appreciate it a lot more. Even though so much bad happens in Laura and Almanzo's first years of marriage, the story ends on a hopeful note.

December 2013 reread.
The First Four Years took on new dimension, reading it as an adult and working on my own fourth year of marriage. When I first read this as a young person, immediately following These Happy Golden Years, I disliked the change in Laura's character and the abruptness of the writing style. I took a lot more from the book this time through, and enjoyed that the writing was Laura's rawer voice.

"The incurable optimism of the farmer who throws his seed on the ground every spring, betting it and his time against the elements, seemed inextricably to blend with the creed of her pioneer forefathers that 'it is better farther on'— only instead of farther on in space, it was farther on in time, over the horizon of the years ahead instead of the far horizon of the west."

I dont really consider this book to part part of the Little House series. It's really more of a rough draft than a finished book, and you can tell. The writing isn't as beautiful, the pacing isn't there, characters don't feel as fleshed out. Even the third-person narrative feels more distant than in the previous books, as if she's truly writing about another petson. Events happen and are then never mentioned again. For example, Mr. Boast asking to trade baby Rose for a horse was such a shocking and heartbreaking moment...but there's no reflecting on it afterwards. Likewise, the death of Laura and Almanzo's baby boy was pretty much just a one sentence event.

Overall, this book feels more bleak and depressing than the others, with the final note being less about optimism and more like, "Well, I guess we'll just keep on farming..." Laura had seemed like such a spirited and headstrong girl in the past books, but in this book she feels broken. Not a cheerful book on which to end the journey...

This last installment is definitely different than the rest in the series, being an unfinished manuscript that is rather unflinching in its descriptions of hardship. it starts out very hopefully, with laura & almanzo marrying and moving into a new house with its fancy pantry and silverware.

i really liked it when laura talks about being sick while she's pregnant and reading to escape how crappy she feels.

and then a lot of terrible things happen in short succession and the book ends abruptly. the terrible things happen in such short succession that i was almost desensitized to it.

i'm looking forward to reading "pioneer girl" now to see what happens to laura and almanzo after the events of this book. i really hope they have at least one successful wheat crop someday.

This one is quite different from the earlier books it's more somber, a little heavier, and weighed with Laura and Manley's disapppointment over personal tradgedies  such as losing every crop for 4 years due to drought or hail, losing their home to a fire, going into heavy debt, contracting a major illness that left Manley with a stroke and a disability, and finally losing a child just a few days old.

I missed the cozy characters I met earlier and kind a missed all the characters including poor Jack specially with a new dog in the picture. This is one of my comfort-reads so I don't want to see sad things, as childish as it may sound, there you have it.

Dad: How many stars?

Eleanor: Daddy? I'm afraid I'm going to have to give it four, because two bad things happened. ...Two really bad things, you know? ... ... You know? ...

Dad: What two bad things?

Eleanor: Well,  the baby getting spasms and dying...

Dad: I know, that was really, really depressing. And I have to agree with you, Eleanor, this was a surprisingly depressing book. I mean, the others had bad stuff in them, that everyone fought through, but this one: man... It was like there was no silver lining...

Eleanor: I'm giving it four stars, although it's hard to give it four stars on my last Little House book, you know?

Dad: Because you liked them all so much?

El: Yes.

Dad: Did you feel bad when it was over?

El: Yes... Little House is all over now. I wish I could be a child again. I wish I could unread Little House so I can read them all again, but I can't.

Dad: No. But you can still read them all again. Did you cry when it ended?

El: Yes. How come you want to know?

Dad: I just find it interesting.

El: Why do you find it interesting that I cried? I find it sad that I cried.

Dad: Well, it shows that you really loved the books. ***This is me, I'm not saying this outloud to Eleanor, but she REALLY loved them, and she REALLY cried when they were over. ...A lot...***

Dad: Did you cry a lot or a little?

El: *Laughs* A LOT! (With a smile.) Did you feel sad when it ended?

Dad: Yeah. I mean, we've spent what? Three years reading these books out loud? I feel like a big milestone of my time with you in your childhood is - or has come to a close.

El: YES! I WISH WE COULD LITTLE HOUSE AGAIN AND START OVER!!! AND SAY, "OOOOooooo!!! I wonder what's going to happen in Little House?!?!?!?"

Dad: Hey, you said you had two reasons for giving it four stars, but you only gave me one.

El: No. I had one reason: there are two bad things. Two really, really bad things.

Dad: That's what I mean. You only told me one of the bad things, what's the other one?

El: Oh YEAH, yeah...  The house burning down.

Dad: That was pretty horrible. What did you think of it?

El: So sad, I almost cried during that part... because only a few things were saved.

Dad: Do you ever wish you lived back in Little House days?

El: (Laughingly): Hmmph... Yeah. Some things were good, and some things were bad. But I don't wish I lived back in Laura's Grandpa's days.

Dad: Why not?

El: Heh. Of course... Because little girls had to behave all the time, not just on Sundays. And they could never slide down the hills like little boys.

Dad: You know that little girls had to "behave" even more in Laura's days than they do today, right?

El: Yes. A little bit. I thought it was easier to be good when she was a kid.

Dad: What do you mean by that?

El: In her days, girls could slide down hills.

Dad: Yes, but there were still a lot of things that girls weren't allowed to do that boys could do, and girls weren't treated as fairly as they are today. In fact, many people today say girls still aren't treated fairly...

El: I can't think of any ways that girls are treated unfairly. Can you think of any ways?

Dad: Yeah, but I don't feel like discussing them with a 7 year old on a public review of a Little House book. Maybe we'll read the Declaration of Sentiments next. ...Maybe not next, but maybe sometime...

El: What's the Declaration of Sentiments?

Dad: A paper where some women said they wanted to be treated fairly. Hopefully we keep treating everyone better, and better. That's what I hope.

El: I hope next year we treat someone better.

Dad: Me too. I'm not sure how we started talking about this. Lets get back to Little House.

El: Good idea.

Dad: So, I know you loved it a whole lot, and I loved it too...

El: (As I'm typing) I loved it too much...

Dad: ...Maybe when you're a couple years older, you could read it to Gwennie, and write your very own reviews on your very own goodreads site without me. What do you think about that?

El: Good! And maybe someday I could read it to you!!!

Dad: That would be fantastic. And you could ask me questions about the book, and then type up the answers!!!

El: And you could tell me how many stars to give it!

Dad: I can't wait!

Another reread after MANY years. I really didn’t remember much about this book at all. It felt so
Much different than the others (I feel like maybe I heard that some people think Rose wrote it?) and so much heartbreak for such a short book. Definitely not my favorite and I found myself wanting to know what happened after.