Week 11: Western Annotation

 Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

Genre: Western

Publication Date: October 2009

Number of Pages: 288 pages

Geographical Setting: West Texas, Chicago, Phoenix, and Northern Arizona including the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff.

Time Period: Early 1900s, roughly 1906- late 1950s

Series: n/a

Plot Summary:

    Following the true life events of Wall's maternal grandmother, Lily Casey Smith, readers will be fascinated by this adventurous story. Told in Lily's distinctive voice, she describes early life in west Texas, her love of school, a move to the big city of Chicago, a failed marriage, a successful marriage, learning to drive a car and fly a plane, bootlegging during prohibition, getting her college degree, life on the ranch in Arizona, and much much more. Although Lily was born in 1903, she very much comes of age in the wild west and experiences the changing times at a different pace than if she had always lived in the big city. Fiercely told, Lily was a force to reckon with.

Subject Headings:

Western

Historical Fiction

Inspired by true stories

Women ranchers

Arizona

Appeal:

Characters: Lily Casey Smith is a strong, independent woman and she is in charge of her life. This book will appeal to those who like books with bold, no-nonsense female leads.

Setting: This book takes place in many locations, primarily in the American southwest. Lily describes life in west Texas and Northern Arizona with great depth. There is a brief section of the book set in Chicago which is an amazing juxtaposition to the rest of the book set in the desert.

Time Frame: This book takes place over most of Lily's life, nearly 50 years of action and adventure. She describes changes in technology and how they often revolutionize her life. Readers will enjoy her descriptions of life in the desert and the big city and the miraculous advances in travel.

3 Terms that best describe this book: adventurous, honest, gritty

3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors:

Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West- Dorothy Wickenden

After receiving their education at Smith College and spending time abroad in Europe, Dorothy Woodruff and Rosamund Underwood leave polite society on the east coast to teach in a schoolhouse in Colorado. Written by Woodruff's granddaughter through interviews and letters, this book is a lively account of the settling of the American west.

In a Narrow Grave: Essays on Texas- Larry McMurtry

McMurtry chronicles life in Texas from the time he has an observant hand on his father's ranch. No stone is left unturned as he describes all the aspects that make the land and the community of Texas unique.

Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of The Grand Canyon- Melissa L Sevigny

With the use of the letters and diaries of Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter, the author chronicles their journey to study the botany in the Grand Canyon in 1938. A dangerous endeavor, there is no lack of adventure for these two gals.

3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors:

Upright Women Wanted- Sarah Gailey

This novella is best described as a dystopian western. Set in the American Southwest, protagonist Esther falls in with a group of horseback librarians delivering contraband literature under a fascist regime. 

The Four Winds- Kristin Hannah

The Great Depression is in full swing, the dust bowl has arrived, and Elsa must decide whether to fight for the land she loves in Texas or go west to California. Set in both 1921 and 1934, readers will experience abundance and famine through the eyes of one indomitable woman.

Inland- Tèa Obreht

Set in Arizona during the late 1800s, this is the story intertwines the lives of a frontierswoman and an outlaw who can see ghosts. Adventure and suspense ensue in a journey across the west.