The Diary of Mattie Spenser

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Summary: The Diary of Mattie Spenser
Review: I enjoyed this book , but would not consider it a "great read". I found the content to be very interesting, but I generally do not enjoy the Diary format, and I ws a bit bored with Mattie's style. In addition, I felt as if the adventures and misadventures of Mattie Spenser were too numerous to be believable. I think that the major obstacle, besides the hard work of settling a new land, and the dangers of doing that, would have been unbelievable boredom and loneliness . I just finished Willa Cather's My Antonia, which is a classic written in 1918, dealing with the same subject, and the difference in styles is very dramatic. Cather writes literature. Dallas writes a good story.

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Summary: great woman's read
Review: I enjoyed this even more than Persian Pickle Club. I will share this with many friends. It's nice to think that women have always been the strong ones, even when they had to keep silent. Good job taking me to a time long ago and making me feel at home there!

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Summary: trite and formulaic
Review: I felt like this was more of a writer's exercise in historical diary keeping than an actual diary. I liked Mattie herself but I kept thinking that the author had made a list of required elements that appear in authentic historical diaries that she checked off as she worked each into her book. Worst of all, however, was the ending. Mattie falters and loses sight of her true self and the story gets buried in a Hollywood ending.

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Summary: Like Laura Ingalls for grown ups
Review: I found this book quite by accident, and I'm glad I did. It reminds me of the Laura Ingalls books I enjoyed so much as a child, only with a rougher edge. I find Mattie to be an inspiraton, as she valiantly chops the heads off of rattlesnakes to save her baby boy. It's not "great literature" for whatever that means, but its entertaining and engrossing, and isn't that what a book is supposed to be? I can't wait to read more of Sandra Dallas' work.

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Summary: I want more!
Review: I got this book [for very little money] and didn't expect much from it, but I was in for a surprise! This book had all of the elements that make it hard to put down while giving the reader a good look at what it was like to be a homesteader. Give yourself a few hours and read it all in one sitting - it was intense. Unlike many reviewers, I loved the ending, but its not what you expect!

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Summary: Like peeking into an actual personal jounal...
Review: I have now read three of Sandra Dallas' four books and have loved all three. This book is about a young woman who heads west to Colorado, married to a man she hardly knows. I kept forgetting at times that it was not a true story. The book details the hard life on the Colorado plains, her husband's wandering eye and heart and her heartbreaks and triumphs. This is NOT a romance novel but more like a history of one pioneer woman, her friends and her life. After reading Ms. Dallas' first two books, I e-mailed the author to tell her how much I have enjoyed her novels and she actually answered the e-mail back herself! I was really surprised at that. She is currently working on another book to be out sometime next spring and I am anxiously awaiting its publication. This is just a good solid read, hard to put down...

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Summary: I would recommend this book to friends
Review: I have only given a five star rating to 3 books in my life. Therefore, receiving four stars from me, a very tough critic means a great read. I dont think I will read this book every summer, as I do to some of my favorites. However, its message and heart-warming story will stay with me for a long while. This stoy's main theme is faith and courage, and how much of these gifts women had in the years when Colorado was just a territory and Andrew Johnson was president. The story's prologue and epiloge really make you feel as if you are picking up someone elses journel and intruding in their most secritive thoughts. I have read this book in a single day, and was not dissapointed at all with it.

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Summary: Sandra Dallas' Best Book
Review: I have read all three of Sandra Dallas fiction books. This is by far the best. I loved the diary format, I really felt like I was living in Colorado in the 1800's. Although I was somewhat dissappointed by the ending, I realise it is probably the most realistic. Hopefully there will be more books like this from Sandra Dallas soon.

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Summary: To the author: Hey, nice job! I really enjoyed your book.
Review: I picked up this book on a whim, always interested to read a Diary-type format as they read quickly and yet you feel "sneaky" and intrusive somehow reading what you would normally view as personal text. Mattie Spenser was really a rebel in her own day, questioning why women had to constantly submit to every whim and demand of a man. The book is interesting throughout - yet as a woman living in the 90's - I sure woulda changed the ending! Thank God women have come as far as they have. Great read Sandra Dallas.....keep 'em coming.

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Summary: A special story I crawled inside...
Review: I read 40 to 50 books a year. My sister loaned this title to me. It sat among my load of "to read" books for weeks. When I picked it up, I could barely put it down. It's a strong story of pioneers, of the fortitude of women, of the endurance of friendship. I really enjoyed the journal format of writing. Cannot wait to read Ms. Dallas' other books. This story will stay with me for a long time. Not for a minute would I want her to tell me less about life on the prairie. And the marriage ups and downs are true to modern relationships. A GOOD READ!