Review of A Land to Call Home (Red River of the North #3) (Paperback)

Book 3 in Red River of the North opens with Penny writing to the absent Hjelmer who has fled the area to avoid a "shotgun wedding" trick.Even though he is young and immature, he is a hard worker with an eye for the future and inside information on the plans of the railroad. Kaaren delivers twins, nearly dying.One twin is not healthy and Lars cannot accept his deaf daughter.School is in full swing in the prairie schoolhouse, with Kaaren as teacher.

Ingeborg and Haaken travel a far distance by train to escort home the seriously injured younger sister of Kaaren.Solveig is a bitter, disappointed young woman who was on her way to join her sister, but whose future is crushed in a train wreck.Face scarred and barely walking, she goes home with Ingeborg and Haaken. Olaf, Kaaren's long lost uncle, mysteriously turns up after a long absence and his many talents make him useful and loved.

Penny has finally decided to travel to Fargo for work and further schooling.The farms continue to progress - a large wooden barn now graces the homestead of Ingeborg who gives birth to another baby, Haaken's first biological child. Metiz continues to weave in and out of the lives of the pioneer families.Her grandson, Baptiste, stays with his friend Thorliff to go to school and help with the farm work.

As much as she balks, Ingeborg gives up her plowing and hunting after teaching young Thorliff to take her place. As usual, tragedy does not pass over them without leaving scars.A tragic fire, blizzards and failing farms cause loss of life and dreams.Agnes give birth to a stillborn daugher.She harbors intensive anger toward Hjelmer for hurting her dear niece, Penny.

The railroad is coming and the time for proving up their land arrives.Both the Bjorkland widows are remarried with families.Extra people share both homes now.A large sack house stores their grain for direct loading on the train.

The book ends with their town becoming a water stop for the railroad, a real town with a real name, Blessing. In spite of the author's confusion with family relationships and forgetting Kaaren's married name, book 3 still deserves 4 stars.

Product Description
Taming the land came at great price. Will their love survive the loss?It has required long, difficult years to tame the virgin prairie of Dakota Territory, but in spite of heartache and back-breaking labor, the hardy immigrants recognize that God has been with them every step. What was merely a dream is now beginning to take shape. And so they face the challenge of proving up their homesteads and building an official town for their growing community.Hjelmer travels west to work on the railroad, but after sending only one letter to Penny, who has agreed to wait for him, he is not heard from again. As the months pass, Penny is pursued by other eligible suitors, and her love for Hjelmer is sorely tried. Will he return to keep his promise?First the land, then a natural disaster nearly devastates them. What will it take to make their dreams a reality?



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