Rating: 
Summary: A great read!
Review: I won't waste space with a summary of the story, as several reviewers have already listed it. However, this quickly became one of my favorite books (the other being very similar "These Is My Words" by Nancy Turner). The hardships Mattie and her family faced seemed realistic to me, although I would have like to get more detail on how they built the soddy house, how she prepared a meal, etc. However, since it is in diary format, one would assume that these details would naturally be left out by the fictional author. I hope to find more books similar to these. They are a great way to get lost in another point of history.
Rating:
Summary: Colorado or bust
Review: If you like reading stories about 1800 pioneer's and their life and struggles, then read this book. But please make sure all you housework is done. I loved this book and hated when it came to an end. Mattie took us along on the covered wagon from Iowa to Colorado. I felt like I was right there with her all the time. Through the marriage to the man who didn't love her, through the covered wagon ride over the plains where they had to deal with the indians, through her and Luke setting up their little sod house on the plains, through delivering her baby, and the friendships she made in a not very friendly country. The sacrifices she made for the man that did not love her. And the friendship she shared with the men that did love her. The ending has a little surprise also. I will definetly read more of Sandra Dallas' work. Enjoy!!!!
Rating:
Summary: A story with staying power.
Review: It has been five years since I picked up this book in the library on a whim and the story has stayed with me ever since - so much so that I finally decided to look it up here and see what others had to say. It's certainly not great literature but there is something about Dallas's straight forward manner and story presentation that is compelling and very believable. I'm amazed that I can still remember most of the book. Mattie's attempt to make a go of life in the wilderness and all the obstacles - both emotional and physical - that she encounters are page turners. A few years later I discovered an even better book along the same lines: Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner.
Rating:
Summary: Great historical fiction!
Review: It's impossible not to feel part of Mattie's life, as she records her journey to Colorado Territory in a diary in 1865. Just married, she adores her husband, Luke -- who may not love her as much as the girl he left behind. Nonetheless, Mattie is determined to be the best wife and mother she can be. But Luke's secrets come close to destroying any happiness either of them may have.
In addition to the Spensers' story, there are many colorful sideplots, pertaining to the folks they've left behind and those they've met in their new settlement. Dallas does a great job in creating memorable characters that remain in readers' minds.
Rating: 
Summary: not a pleasant read
Review: Like other reviewers said, it seemed like the author was trying to cram the experiences of many settlers into the story of one. I know people who settled the west had hard lives, but this was ridiculous. Even the love story was depressing.
Rating: 
Summary: The Diary of Mattie Spenser
Review: Mattie, a newlywed, goes west to settle in Colorado. She soon discovers the hardships of the frontier and of marriage. She chronicles the first few years, as the diary is her only friend. It is a great story of self realization, sacrifice, and growing to maturity. My favorite parts of the story are when she realizes things about herself, her surroundings or people in her life that are much different than she first thought. A great book, which I will no doubt re-read.
Rating:
Summary: An absolute classic
Review: Oh, if only they could all be like this. This book was completly enthralling. It took me days to even have the heart to pick up another book for fear it could never measure up to this one. The characters become so real that you are sure you have spent your whole lives together. I cannot say enough about it. Please DONT hesitate to buy this book. It is truly a treat you find only a few times in a lifetime.
Rating:
Summary: An Author of Breath-taking Skill
Review: Sandra Dallas can number me among her devoted fans. I haven't read anything yet from her that I haven't admired. And I delighted in THE DIARY OF MATTIE SPENSER; couldn't put it down.As always with a book by Ms. Dallas, she has researched thoroughly so that her readers can truly understand the time and the place in which she sets her story. MATTIE opens with the pioneers on the wagon train to what was then the Colorado Territory. Most of the story then unfolds on the prairie where this new bride and her husband settle. This was a place so isolated and so bleak that we now know it drove many women, and a few men, to madness. Certainly, we understand these hardships as we sit in our warm homes, reading under the light of a good lamp. But seeing the hardships spelled out, as Dallas does here, reminds us of the extent of the woes that these people endured, and the stoicism with which they accepted their realities. Indian attacks, isolation, no plumbing, heat, light, medicine, plus childbirth fever...well, we now have a lot for which to be thankful. And the distance that, as a population, we have moved in just a century is highlighted by this diary. Part of Dallas' skill is that she always inhabits her characters so perfectly, giving them their voices. Mattie, as Dallas writes her, is a woman of extraordinary virtues. Decent, educated, kind and capable, she accepts her bridegroom's choices and defines the old-fashioned concept of "helpmate." Like all of Ms. Dallas' novels, this story pivots on a terrible secret, the worst secret she has written to date. I must admit that I was upset with the outcome here, though I cannot see how the diary could have ended in any other way. Still, Mattie's decision is thought-provoking in terms of today's women, and it highlights how far women have come in terms of both our rights and our freedoms within society. I admired the concept of writing this story in the form of diary entries. Since Ms. Dallas apparently is a leading expert on Colorado frontier history, I cannot help wondering how much of MATTIE may be fact-based. Truth or fiction, it doesn't matter. THE DIARY OF MATTIE SPENSER is a wonderful book that will stay with its admirers for years after it first is read.
Rating:
Summary: Very Willa Cather-ish
Review: Set in post-civil war times, Mattie Spenser arrives by wagon in the eastern part of Colorado with a brand new husband. The author portrays the hardships they encounter through a diary of Maddie Spencer, recently unearthed. Hardship, infant mortality, betrayal, frugality, drought and loss give a lot of competition to the rag tag Indian threats. Maddie's strong spirit meets the obstacles and moves on, accepting the dictates of her husband in a very sobering attitude of submission. Very Cather-ish, the author hits the right notes for the austerity and characterization. Anyone unfamiliar with the eastern portion of Colorado, should put away visions of a mountainous land, and think instead of Kansas. Brutally cold or brutally hot, with no trees for shade or shelter - truly an inhospitable landscape. The reader is shown that marriage was quite a different institution during these times - from Mattie to the Indian bride to the wife used for breeding and labor. Or...is it? Somethings do stay very much the same. This story is not just a tale of the pioneering spirit, but a celebration of women and the sacrifices all have made. I would never call it a romance novel. Well researched and beautifully written, strikes a very honest tone.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect "Covered Wagon" Story!!!!
Review: Sometimes your lucky day strikes and you come upon a novel that meets all your favorite topics and interests. This book was recommended to me by another Amazon.com reviewer that understood my passion for this era and took advantage of what this site has to offer to get in touch with me. Ever since my mother passed along _Jubilee Trail_ by Gwen Bristow, I have been fascinated by the 1850's and the journey and homesteading of the western lands. While the stories of many books I have read were well done, I still wished to learn more of the everyday issues and how they managed to make do in such difficult settings. It is very evident that the author, Sandra Dallas, researched her work, for you will be delighted to learn specifics of how these men and women lived, loved, made their home and raised their children. It is a difficult time, the end of the civil war has taken it's toll on the north and south. Men are looking to making a livelihood and forget the horrors of the war. The story centers around Mattie, a young woman who marries Luke and moves to Colorado. There, Luke challenges the land hoping to farm, and Mattie works hard to make a home in their sod house. She becomes pregnant immediately and must deliver her first child in the company of men. Mattie and Luke's marriage is stable, but Luke has some secrets and over the years Mattie discovers them. Other men see the beauty and strength in Mattie, for she is a fine lady and well respected. She easily fits in the group of men, as they discuss the issues of farming, indian revolts and homesteading. It is a very difficult life as the indians are a constant threat, alternating the kidnapping of women and children with outright murdur. Food and provisions are scarce and the risks of disease are a constant fear. Their days are long and the work is hard. There are few luxuries. A long forgotten piece of chocolate fallen into the corner of their traveling trunk serves as a treat to be scavenged and eaten. The reader is astonished at the strength these people had to have to survive in such stark and barren land. You will be pleased with the details and even more so with the plot of the story. Travel to the big city, Denver City and learn what it was like to stay in the hotel and explore the city. It is a wonderful book and I hated to come to the last page. You will, too.
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