These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine 1881-1901: Arizona Territories (The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine 1881-1901, Arizona Territories)

Rating:
Summary: MAGNIFICENT!
Review: Nancy, I am impatiently awaiting another book by you!!!!!!! I will never forget Sarah.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutey Awesome!!!!
Review: Sarah Agnes Prine was a young 17-year-old female living in Arizona territory when her family decided to move, by wagon train, to the west. She begins her journal on July 22, 1881, on the trail, fearing that she may die, in hopes that when they find her body they will know whom she is. On the trail Sarah loses her youngest brother Clover and her father. Her mother loses her wits and her brother loses a leg. Her other brother finds a wife and she meets the man she will one day marry and finds a wagon full of books. They can't make it all the way to San Angelo, so they turn around. Ernest leaves for the army, Sarah is sick, and Savannah and Albert are expecting. Starting over again wasn't easy. Sarah goes through many thoughts and her deepest are shared in an interesting way. She learns what true love is, how difficult child labor is, what a mother feels like towards a child, how strong family ties are important, and teaches us a lesson or two also. This book was absolutely amazing. I found it difficult to believe this was fiction. The book starts out slow and may be a little hard to get into, but after the first few pages I was totally engulfed in Sarah's story. I could not put this book down. You should read this book. There is no doubt about why this book was a nominee.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, emotional story.
Review: This book made me cry, laugh, and get angry. I usually read historical romance, but this book appeared on a "must read" list so I gave it a whirl. Could not put it down. The journal style made it easy to read, not too deep. I felt Sarah's disappointments, joys, and confusion about life and death. I would happily recommend this book.

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Summary: This book is both fascinating and historically accurate
Review: It was my job to lead the discussion of this book for our book club. To do it justice, I read it three times, taking notes the last two. Each time I read it, I picked up another interesting aspect of her story. It is especially interesting to me because my grandmother came to AZ only a few years after Sarah Prine's story ends! She brought my mother and aunt with her, and they lived in Willcox before moving to Tucson. Things were so drastically different then. I live around the corner from what is left of Fort Lowell and every time I drive by I think of her in one of the houses with the roof leaking! Ms. Turner has agreed to come and visit with us at one of our book club sessions (since we meet in a restaurant we call it the Eaters' Digest!). She says she is writing another book (not a sequel).

Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: This has to be one of the best books I have read in quite some time. I read the novella in "Good Housekeeping" a few years back. I was so taken with the story, I kept the issue just for that. The book was even better. I literally could not put it down...stayed up all night reading it. The settings were well done and it was obviously well researched. The characters are engaging and believable and grab you emotionally. This is one of the few books that I have truely had a good cry over. A 4-hanky book.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, romantic and sometimes unbelievable
Review: This book captivted me with it's love story and unique style of protrayal (journal entries). While the romance of Sarah and Jack and the setting near my own hometown (Tucson, AZ)kept me reading, it left my husband bored. He agrees the story is sweet and some of the action interesting, but at times unrealistic. We both agree that Sarah appears to be Annie Oakley in the beginning of the book (a perfect shot is a bit hard to believe). But on the whole if you are looking for romance, some action and some unique characters this book is a wonderful read. I admit for a any short comings I found myself engrossed all the same.

Rating:
Summary: A book to savor, and keep to read again and again
Review: This book reminded me of Diary of Mattie Spenser by Sandra Dallas. This book is a pleasure to read. Nancy E. Turner packs so much life into this book.

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Summary: "For everyone who has ever stood alone on a hill in a storm"
Review: For me the dedication of this book says it all. One of the great things about literature is that it lets us see that we are not alone, that some thoughts and feelings are universal and timeless. Even if you don't ever "feel like a tree on a hill, at the place where all the wind blows and the hail hits the hardest..." (pg. 152).. this is still a great story.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Book I have ever read
Review: I have read These Is my Words a total of four times, and have only owned it for four years. I read it every summer and enjoy it just as much as I always have. If you have not yet read this book,you must, because you will never find another like it. It is a wonderful story of a strong, stubborn girl on her path to womanhood. She struggles though many things and eventually finds the love of her life. It contains the right amout of suspence, action, heroism, and romance. It is only a dissapointment when you finish reading it, and know it is over. If you are still in scearch of a favorite, read this one, its worth it 100%.

Rating:
Summary: Turner is Tops in Debut
Review: Sarah Agnes Prine, the heroine of Nancy E Turner's first novel, "These Is My Words", is a strong -- and strong-minded -- young woman. Raised with a passel of brothers, she learned to hunt, ride bareback, and "shoot a tick off a dog's back" at an early age. Written journal style, the story chronicles Sarah's life in the Arizona Territory from 1881 to 1901. It details encounters with Indians and outlaws, immigrants and soldiers, especially one particular Army captain whose path seems to cross hers frequently. Sarah's journal records births and deaths, many violent, and some by her own hand. It tells of her first, loveless marriage, and following her husband's untimely death, her second marriage to Captain Jack Elliot. "I love him with all the love I have ever had," she wrote. Sarah is a lusty, gutsy, surprising heroine with a healthy share of feminism for her time. The book, winner of the Arizona Author Award and finalist for the Willa Cather Literary award, offers an intriguing glimpse of southwestern history as lived by real people. A thoroughly absorbing and enjoyable read.