A super condensed version of the more "exciting" parts of Little House on the Prairie, On the Banks of Plum Creek, and the Long Winter. Molly and David act as stand-ins for Ma & Pa, who [I guess spoilers ahead if you've never read a single Little House book] marry in the Big Woods and move west to try their hand at farming. They take over a sod shanty on the prairie near a creek, have a baby named David John (though a few times in the book he's mistakenly called Charles John, so clearly the David character was originally Pa but Rose changed the names). They lose their crops to grasshoppers, and David goes east for work while Molly holds down the fort, battling wolves and finding a cow until David returns.

I learned about Rose's written works earlier this year when I visited the Wilder home and museum in Missouri. I marked this one to read and have just now gotten around to reading it. Rose writes very well and tells the story of Charles and Caroline, a young couple who go West to start a new life. Many of the events that happen are similar to Laura's life on the frontier. The characters display bravery, love, and hope during hardships. This was an edifying read and I recommend to fans of the Little House books.

I've seen this TV movie of this book many times with my grandma and finally found a copy of the book. Fans of the Little House books will be familiar with a few of the aspects of this book (David and Molly live in a dugout near Plum Creek, for example). At eighteen and sixteen, David and Molly set off for the prairie to establish their homestead and plant their wheat crop. But like any pioneer story, things do not go as perfectly planned as they work to get settled. With grit and the support of one another, David and Molly keep working towards establishing themselves and their future.

I could very easily picture this story being a fictionalized account of Charles and Caroline's early years of marriage or even Laura and Almanzo Wilder's life (although the ages of David and Molly would be different). All in all, this is an enjoyable read that displays the harsh realities pioneers experienced in comparison to the Little House books, which seem to sugarcoat a lot of the pioneer lifestyle for younger readers. I would say Young Pioneers would be for the older, middle grade/YA readers.

How many of us can picture our 16/18-year-old selves leaving our families to start a homestead of our own? Probably not many of us could be able to do what David and Molly do, but that's what makes their story so riveting.

I’m a huge fan of the Little House book series and have read them many times but for some reason had never picked this one up.

I didn’t read ahead of time, so I assumed this was the story of Rose but it is not. Still, a good read.

The story line is so very similar to the Little House books that sometimes I felt like I was reading a plagiarized book.