Review THESE IS MY WORDS by Nancy E. Turner

THESE IS MY WORDS
by Nancy E. Turner
Published January 22nd 1998 by Regan Books
384 Pages

Placement in the Pile: Reaching New Heights

Summary:
Inspired by the true story of the author's pioneering great-grandmother, this mesmerizing saga tells of the emotional, intellectual, and romantic awakening of a spirited young woman, Sarah Agnes Prine, of the late 19th century in the American West.

Review:
This book was a very good read. I was entrapped by the character's voice and life. She was spirited and strong willed and lived the awful hardships of a life in the Arizona territories during the late 1800s.

I was worried that the narration of the book would bother me, but it really was done so well that I loved it instead. It is written in journal format, and thus when she is relaying conversations there are no quotation marks etc. On top of that, she was only educated at home, and never had formal schooling so some of the grammar etc. is off. But Sarah Agnes Prine is someone you can't help but love.

We read this for my book club and it was such a fun book to talk to friends about. We just sat there going over and over almost everything in the book listing it as "my favorite part". Then we were lucky enough to have a phone conversation with the author about the book, the history of her grandmother and how writing the subsequent books came about. (Yes, there are two more books, but this is definitely a stand alone read if you want it to be.)

I adored the love story, I was shocked at how hard her life was, and yet how wonderful it could be at the same time. This one isn't YA but I suggest it for all readers who are ready to deal with some of the harder issues in the content. Such a fabulous story!