Product Description
FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (60)

I did not recieve this product, but I paid for it!
I am a sixth grade teacher interested in using the work of Laura Ingalls Wilder in my clasroom.I purchased this product in good faith and never recieved it.In 7years of ordering through this service this is the second time this has happened to me.I paid for it all right - the money came right out of my Credit Union acount.
Its frustrating when you cant even figure out who is ripping you off.I will be hesitant to order through Amazon in the future.

great piece of american history
No matter how many times I re-read this series it never gets old.I love this book the best of all in the series and think this should by the final book read b/c "The First Four Years" is simply awful and utterly depressing.

Wonderful book
In all of the previous Little House books, Laura was a little girl (except for the last couple of books when she was a teenager) but still, in all the previous books, she was very much a minor and under the care of her family, doing what Ma and Pa tell her and all of that. As she grows up, she becomes more independent as she takes on a school-teaching job, though she still lives with her family sometimes and shares strong bonds with them.

Back then there were no cars, phones, electric, and the like. And these people did JUST FINE without all of that. These books are an awesome look into what life was like back then. Teenagers back then were much more independent than any today are. Dating is also considerably different, as this book shows. No hanging out at a movie or whatever, courtship is very old-fashioned (and 'clean' compared to the dating habits of many people today - here you can see that courtship gives people opportunity to know one another without the physical pressures of sex today. There was just talking, going to picnics, and the like. How different times were back then - but courtship led to a wonderful, long-lasting marriage.

Laura's older, but still fun for kids
In "Golden Years" Laura is a teenager and beginning to live a more adult life- taking her first teaching job and marrying at the very end of the book.My six- and nine-year-olds still enjoyed it, however.There's still lots of play, fun anecdotes, and interesting facts about the time.

A must read for all!!
These books are fantastic.No home library is complete without them.I loved the series as a child and now all my siblings are reading them to their children. ... Read more

Product Description
FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (48)

GOOD READ FOR AN ADULT BUT CERTAINLY NOT INTENDED FOR MOST 4-8 YEAR OLD READERS AS INDICATED!
THIS IS REQUIRED READING FOR MY SON'S 3RD GRADE PRIVATE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL IN GEORGIA.WHEN I HARSHLY CRITICIZED MY SON FOR BEING TOO LAZY TO READ THIS BOOK AND ANSWER HOMEWORK QUESTIONS I WAS SUPRISED WHEN I PICKED IT UP AND READ IT. 1ST PAGE---"SHE WAS BASTING CAMBRIC LINING TO THE BODICE PIECES OF HER NEW BLACK CASHMERE DRESS"I MEAN WHAT KIDS KNOWS WHAT THE HECK SHE WAS DOING?ANOTHER EXAMPLE: "IF MANLY DID NOT FILE ON THE LAND SOMEONE ELSE WOULD, FOR IF HE FAILED TO PROVE UP, THE LAND WOULD REVERT TO THE GOVERNMENT AND BE OPEN TO SETTLEMENT BY ANYONE. SO MANLY PRE-EMPTED THE LAND....HUH? I GET IT BUT I DOUBT A 3RD GRADER WOULD.

The First Four Years
Even though it's different from the other books, which is both good and bad at once, i like this book.
I think it's sad to read about all the troubles they had, with diphtheria, the house that burnt down, the loss of Laura's son, etc. It reminds me of the other period she left out -- the year the Ingalls spent in South Troy, Minnesota and Burr Oak, Iowa.
As some of you say, "These Happy Golden Years" was intended to be the last "Little House" book, but according to "Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography" by William Anderson, the readers wanted to know what happened next, so Laura finally said "well, there MIGHT just be another book underway" and then wrote this draft which was released post mortem. I do think the decision to release the book was correct, otherwise I fear that someone else would do it, just like they did to the lost Laura years.

But, back to the book. Laura first refuses to become a farmer's wife because of all the shores and the fact that they might not be very rich. Almanzo manages to make a deal with her to try it for three years, and then a fourth year - "The Year of Grace". Unless I misunderstand it, Laura didn't like living in town, either. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Those years were really troubled years. Almanzo buys things on credit and plan to pay for them when the harvest were done. But when harvest time came, there was a hailstorm that destroyed the crops; if Almanzo didn't wait the last days they would be hundreds of dollars richer. In addition, Laura first gave birth to a baby girl, Rose Wilder Lane, and years later, a baby boy which died 3 weeks later. After that Laura's and Almanzo's home burnt down in a fire. Those and other events described in the book are really sad events which I can understand why she didn't put in a children's book.

I like the book, but I must warn that the storytelling is different from the other 8 Laura books, and that the storytelling that is expressed in this book might be a bit "disappointing".

depressing
I love Laura Ingalls Wilder as an author.I think her books are interesting and well written.Her descriptions of events, places, people, and time periods cannot be beat and it draws you right in.However, this book is just awful and depressing.

the struggles of a young pioneer couple
I love this book because it tells about Laura and Manly's first few years of marriage. The manuscript was not prepared for publication by Laura, because it was not found until after her death. Therefore, the book is not as well-written or detailed as the previous Little House books. However, if you enjoy Laura's other books, this book will be of interest. I found out things about Laura's life that I never knew until I read this book.

Biittersweet end
This book really is only for die-hard Little House fans. It wasn't published till after Laura and Rose had died, for 'Golden years' was meant to be the end of the Little House series. It's definitely not for little kids, and if your little one is a fan of the series, I wouldn't recommend telling them of this book till they get older, since this has a different feel to the story. I didn't enjoy it as much as the other LH books, but that should be expected with Ms. Wilder's intentions and the fact that this book was a posthumous publication. It's not a bad read on it's own, though, it's just different because it's sadder. Definitely a book for older readers. ... Read more

Product Description
FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Pa's homestead thrives, Laura gets her first job in town, blackbirds eat the corn and oats crops, Mary goes to college, and Laura gets into trouble at school, but becomes a certified school teacher. A Newbery Honor Book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (35)

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!
My girls,(5&7) love listening to these. Cherry Jones is an amazing actress who gives different vocal inflections for each person in the books.

I grew up reading this series, and am so glad I was able to introduce "Laura" to my girls through these CD's at such an early age!
We're planning on purchasing the entire set.

Laura as a townie teenager
First let me say that I read this in the full-color collector's edition, and it was lovely. Thick, glossy pages that could withstand much "love" and Garth Williams' lovely drawings enhanced with color. Very nice.

In Little Town on the Prairie, Laura is about 15 and the Ingalls family spends most of the narrative in the town of DeSmet, South Dakota. Laura has adapted to town life (compare her discomfort at being surrounded by strangers in By the Shores of Silver Lake) and is experiencing life as a young lady in frontier society in the 1880's. The period detail is rich and rewarding in this book, and in its own way, Little Town shows Laura struggling with the need to "fit in" with her peers, just as every teenager experiences today. For Laura, it's having a chance to select her own printed "name cards" and exchange them with her friends. ($0.25 for a dozen cards, a princely sum by Ingalls' standards). She also experiences a bit of evil glee at seeing the tables turned on Nellie Oleson, who is now the poor country girl. On the other hand, we see Laura work steadfastly at a hated job of sewing sleeves on men's shirts, because of her dedication to giving Mary a chance to attend college for the blind. She also dedicates herself to studying for a teacher's license so she can further supplement the family's income, and at the end of the book achieves her goal, via a lie of omission (something that Ma surely would have disapproved!).

In a remarkable section, Laura describes sewing an elegant winter dress for Mary to wear at college, and then casually tosses in that they made a hat to go with it! How on earth does one make a hat, and isn't it remarkable that Laura Ingalls Wilder didn't think hat-making merited any special mention?

We also see the intellectual side of Ma and Pa, as they go head-to-head in a fierce spelling bee competition. Pa is primarly a businessman in Little Town, which is a delightful contrast to his handyman skills that were so prominently on display in the earlier Little House volumes. Pa also delights in creating Literary Society productions for Friday nights in town. There is a queasy-making (by modern standards) chapter describing a blackface show, which may provoke some important discussions between parents and children. Ma is ever the conscientious molder of young women's behavior; it's a thankless job but someone has to do it.

Finally, Little Town is where Laura begins to be courted by Almanzo Wilder. He walks her home from the Literary Society several times, and gives her a sleighride behind his glorious team of horses. Tame stuff by modern standards, but Ma and Pa's tightlipped and cautious acceptance of this much-older man in Laura's life tells us everything we need to know.

my 2nd fav. by her
I love Laura Ingalls Wilder as an author.I think her books are interesting and well written.Her descriptions of events, places, people, and time periods cannot be beat and it draws you right in.

Enjoyable book
In the other books, Laura and her family were more isolated. Part of this was of course due to her youth, but as Laura moves into womanhood, she is able to enjoy and do more things, and be treated more as an adult, including getting jobs to help raise funds for her sister to go to a college for the blind. Town life is also emphasized here, as opposed to living in the big woods and the prairie. And lo and behold, here's Nellie Oleson again! Yes, really! And she has the same bratty attitude as well, which makes for some rather entertaining parts in this book. Overall a great book in the Little House series, if you've enjoyed the other books you will enjoy this one too. Enjoy!

breath of fresh air after that dreadful winter
Like many readers, I enjoyed watching Laura grow up: putting her hair up and letting her dresses down, attending her first boy-girl party, and house-sitting for a week while Ma and Pa saw Mary safely off to college. Laura had good work ethic, and academic diligence beyond most girls her age. She sacrificed much of her spare time to study hard enough to get teaching certification. Though she did not especially want to become a teacher, she was determined to earn money for Mary's college tuition. I liked Laura best when her fun or fiesty side showed itself. She couldn't help laughing her head off when two town drunks made a fairly innocuous scene in public, and she was playful at recess when the boys wanted to take the girls for sled rides. She fiercely stood up to her teacher (and sister-in-law in the future!) when that woman was mean to little sister Carrie. In Little Town, Laura also learned about the repercussions of gossip, and how to remain neutral but respectful when caught in the middle of others' conflicts. She experienced the excitement of literaries, potluck dinner fundraisers, and the attentions of the older handsome Almanzo. One of my favorite things about this book was the way in which Laura and Mary bonded during long walks. They talked about their sibling rivalry as kids. They were able to talk about Laura's resentment toward such a 'good' older sister, and Mary's secret enjoyment of her role and others' praise. For years, Mary did chide Laura for not being absolutely literal when she described things, but Laura's knack for metaphor and simile led HER to lay the foundations for these wonderful books. I think both girls did much growing during the final books of the series, Mary in capability and Laura in self-confidence. It was a joy to read about the entire family's changes, and about the excitement of living in a fast-growing town. ... Read more

Product Description
FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Set during the pioneer days of the late 1800s and early 1900s, Laura Ingalls Wilder's books chronicle her life growing up on the Western frontier. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (35)

Laura meets the Wild West
By the Shores of Silver Lake is a bit darker and more dangerous than the books preceding. It opens with the family recovering from the scarlet fever that took away Mary's eyesight, and with a surprise offer of a well-paying job for Pa at a railroad building camp. The difficulties of farming at Plum Creek and Pa's thirst for the road override Ma's wish for a permanent home, and the family is off again: Pa by wagon and Ma and the kids on the train. Railroads were brand new and a train trip was seen as quite risky, but the only way that Mary could make the journey.

The railroad camp that eventually became the town of DeSmet, South Dakota, was a rough place filled with coarse men. The area was about to be opened up to homesteaders, and a boomtown was about to rise up from the prairie. Pa's job was to issue the men's paychecks every two weeks, a more dangerous occupation than it sounds. Ma spends much of the book worrying about exposing the girls to coarse language, drunkeness, and various other forms of heathenism. (Ma is really a bit of a prude, objecting even to Pa singing a song about a lucky horseshoe). Two men are killed, offstage, in the book and Pa gets into some close calls himself. As the land rush proceeds, Ma finds herself running a hotel for the men who come to settle the land. She really has no choice but to accomodate the travelers, and wisely begins to charge them for their meals and a space on the floor to sleep.

There is also much in this book that is warm and lovely. Pa's tender gesture to Ma of bringing some trees to plant on the homestead. A happy and coindidental reunion with Reverend Alden, and his sweet suggestion that Mary might someday attend college. Laura making a new and adventurous friend in her cousin Lena at the camp. And of course, Pa's reassurance to Laura that Jack will be happy in dog heaven. The family also takes delight in making special Christmas gifts for each other, and sweet Ma gives up something special of her own to make an unexpected Christmas houseguest happy. We also see Laura honing her storytelling talents as she becomes Mary's "eyes", trying earnestly to help her sister share in everything the family experiences.

As with the other Little House books, the historical context of Silver Lake is rich and detailed. Excellent reading for children and adults.

By The Shores Of Silver Lake
Cherry Jones once again brings the characters from Laura's story to life in a unique way.
I look for excuses to travel in my car just to be able to listen to another segment of the story!
I have read all the books in the series, but I am discovering many aspects for the first time,
simply by having them read aloud to me with such care.
I bought the first set of CDs to try it out - then I couldn't get the rest of them quickly enough
to keep up with my renewed enthusiasm for the stories.
My only regret is that one day, I WILL reach the end of my supply!
Of course, I can wait a little while & then start listening all over again -
but at the moment I am relishing the freshness that comes with each CD.
They are, indeed, American classics - but even as an Australian, I see the universality of the
subject material, especially as read (& sung) by Cherry Jones.
These stories are timeless and profound.
My admiration for the family of Charles & Caroline Ingalls grows daily.
They are absolutely still alive in these recordings - the voice, the music, the story.
We get to know Laura and her family & friends a little better.
I will probably always re-read the books with the voice of Cherry Jones in my head - this is a good thing!
Thank You!

my third favorite title by her
I love Laura Ingalls Wilder as an author.I think her books are interesting and well written.Her descriptions of events, places, people, and time periods cannot be beat and it draws you right in.

Back to the prairie
Plum Creek had seemed such a haven in the last book. After moving out of the Big Woods and the Prairie, Plum Creek apparently is no longer the right home for them anymore, thanks to poor crops and other junk in Minnesota. So onward they move!

There were plenty of hard times not covered in this book, though just a couple of things were mentioned. There is a wider gap of years between this book and Plum Creek than with the other books, I guess Laura Wilder didn't want to write out about these harsh events, not that I can blame her. Mary is now blind due to a bout of scarlet fever that hit the family during the interim between Plum Creek and this book. Another child (Grace) has been born, but what is not mentioned in the book is that there was another child (Charles) born in 1875 but he died before his first birthday.

So this book begins after this has all happened and Pa finds a new job and homestead so he can bring out his family, Laura's just becoming a woman (12-13 years old) as she returns to life on the prairie, which is very different to the way that pretty much all Americans live today, as there was a lot of isolation due to the low amount of people. Wow, life was hard back then but they managed! Overall this is a solid book in a wonderful series.

By the Shores of Silver Lake CD
Excellent series - am enjoying hearing it this time around as opposed to reading the books the first time around.Makes my daily work commute quite enjoyable. ... Read more

Product Description
FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (63)

By far, the best of the series
I loved this book growing up, and I love it as an adult.I believe it to be, by far, the best book in the Little House series.Like the other books, much is learned about a settler's life in the late 1800s, and many life lessons are conveyed as well.But, this book has much more excitement to the plot, with seven months of blizzards, a town running out of food, and a brave trip by two young men to go get more wheat.

Laura is in her early teens in this book.But, the story is not written from only her perspective.It also jumps to Pa's and to Almanzo Wilder's, giving a much broader overview of the Long Winter.

I love reading about Laura twisting hay, and horses riding by the second-story window, and so many other scenes in this book.I never tire of it.This book really pulls the reader in.I just finished reading it with my older children (ages 9, 7, and 5), and they enjoyed it greatly as well.

If someone was only going to read only one book in the series, this is the one I would recommend.Even standing alone (without the background of the earlier books), it is a masterpiece.

Boy, I wanted pancakes after reading this...
The Long Winter is a story of the family, the Ingalls family, trying to survive a long, tough winter.They have to move into the town but, because the railroad tracks are covered, and blocked, by the snow they find life in the town isn't much better than outside.Everybody runs low on everything - sugar, butter, wheat, coffee, meat, and even fuel for the stoves.At one point there is almost a mob.Yes, even Pa gets a tad depressed.It made me hungry just reading it and my Mom told me that, when reading it in college, she also felt hungry.Course, she lived on a farm in Michigan where winter can last most of the year.And me in Northern Virginia means I get to enjoy winter with people who go crazy at the first sign of a snow flake.
Still, good book.Wonderful feel to it.You feel the cold, the hunger, the wind.Makes you want to build up the fire in your fireplace.Good book to read by the camp fire or the old oil lamp.
Maybe read it to your kids during a snow storm!
Enjoy!Now I'm off to make more pancakes!

LOVE THESE BOOKS
How can anyone not love these books??? it takes me back to my childhood and makes me feel more alive then ever when i read them...im an adult and still read these books and could read them over and over....growing up in an area that has frequent snow in winter and even blizzards now and then i can relate to this paticular book theres nothing better as a child then a good snow day no school going out and riding the sled having hot coco staying outside til your nose was sooooooo cold and sooooooo red!!! wonderful wonderful!!!!

Terrific Service
I can't believe how fast I got my book.
Wonderful service.
Book was received as stated.
Thanks a million !!!!

Preventing the Blizzard from Freezing Hearts
We take up Laura's story when the family has moved onto their Claim outside of De Smet.LITTLE HOUSE readers will delight to learn more about Pa, Ma, blind Mary, Carrie and baby Grace. Plus we finally meet the famous Wilder boys from NY State--of whom the younger brother, Almazno, is destined to marry Laura some years later. (Considering the author's names I feel I am not spoiling anything.) Warned by an old Indian that every 7 years winters are hard, and that every 21 years they will be severe, Pa decides to move his family into the relative safety and social warmth of their house in town.The blizzards start in October and last through April, bringing subzero temperatures, ferocious winds, relentless snow and ice. Long days of early dark, and feelings of virtual isolation even with stores and houses close by make Life gloomy then downright grim, as the family battles personal depression along with hunger and fatigue.

They survive physically because Pa hauls loads of hay on sunny days--hay not only for their livestock but which they need
to twist into "sticks" for fuel, heat and light. Also because Ma, the ingenious prairie housewife, makes button lamps when the kerosene gives out, and uses a coffee mill to grind wheat for coarse, brown bread--managing to feed them all when there is almost nothing left.But the entire town faces starvation because the trains have stopped running west--mired in frozen snow drifts 20 feet deep.The Wilder brothers have their own store, but all grocery stores have run out of supplies and the town is desperate. Then they hear a rumor that somewhere out of town--in which direction?--some farmer raised wheat which might be for sale--at the right price?Who will risk their lives to find this fellow--If he exists?

The Ingalls family owes its psychological survival tointernal factors, such as Pa's wonderful fiddle music and Ma's quiet insistence that the girls continue their education even when school is shut down for the winter.Despite occasional parental flare ups and sisterly bickering the family pulls through because of their deep love and respect for each other.Laura, "Half Pint" as Pa calls her fondly, matures over those long bitter months; she privately vows to become a school teacher after all, to earn money to send Mary to a college for the Blind.When tempers threaten to result in mob rule Pa speaks with the voice of reason to calm desperate men, to encourage greedy men to be reasonable. With Garth Williams' charming pen and ink illustrations this book is a sweet but sobering read for "young" adults of all ages.

... Read more

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An account of historic architecture and homes throughout Huron, South Dakota and the rest of the state. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (26)

Charming portrait of a lifestyle long gone
This book, the third in a trilogy based on the author's own childhood, focuses once again on Rachel, now a sixth grader living during a brutal winter in the 1950's in South Dakota. Rachel dreads coming home from school each day, because there are endless chores, like on any other farm.However, Rachel's large family includes only one brother, a baby named Matthew.That means Rachel and her sisters do a man's work alongside their father. Because of this, Rachel dreads snow days, weekends and any time she has to be at home and working.

A series of blizzards leaves Rachel's parents with a dilemma: keep the girls home to help or send them to town so they can go to school. (We know which option Rachel wants)Like all winters, this one eventually ends, and Rachel discovers that she has grown up more than she could have imagined.

I found this book charming as well as engaging; even though I hadn't read the previous two books in the series, I found it easy to jump right in and get to know the characters.(I liked this book well enough that I read the two previous books afterward)For a 'tween up to mid-teens, or younger if read-aloud, this book is are look at an America that has all but disappeared.

Nostalgic, Old-Fashioned Winter Story
Prairie Winter is a sweet story of the troubles and hardships facing families living on the prairie in South Dakota in the 1950s. It's been a very bad winter: lots of snow, lots of wind, and bitter temperatures. For sixth grader Rachel, this means difficult times because not only can she not go to school because the roads are so bad, but she has to do many difficult chores on her family's farm. And winter is not about to get easier.

Bonnie Geisert invokes both the simplicity and hardships of living on a farm in the 1950s. Simple pleasures like snowball fights, games like fox and goose, and listening to the radio add a very refreshing ambiance to the story, while the difficulty in shoveling, in getting home from school, in being stranded at a neighbor's house for days on end add to the reality of being a farm girl in South Dakota.

At the same time, I didn't feel like the historical setting was fully utilized. Except for not having a phone in the house, and TV just coming out, this could be a farm story from somewhat more modern times. While this doesn't hurt the story, the time period just doesn't come alive as much as possible.

However, this is a nice and simple story that parents looking for a clean read, a family read, will enjoy. While this is part of a series it seems, I honestly had no trouble following the family and its antics, even as I had not read any of the earlier books. Perhaps having read the previous books would add a bit more to the historical context, but all in all, it was a pleasant read. This is not groundbreaking writing or storytelling but it just has a really nice feel good appeal to it that is sometimes hard to find.

difficult time relating to the main character
Rachel Johnson is a sixth-grader at a Cresbard school
this year. Going to school means everything to her. She
lives in a rural part of town with no phone, so going to
school is a way for her communicate. She can talk to
friends and play in the band, that is going to Chicago
this year, it is everything she loves. Then all that could
be taken away from her when a huge snowstorm hits
Cresbard, keeping her away from her beloved school. Then,
in a surprising turn of events, her strict father agrees
to fly her and her sisters into town. She stays in an
hotel for weeks, living the good life. Will she ever
return to her farmlife again?

Prairie Winter takes place on a farm in the 1950's.
It describes the way of life for a 10 year
old farm girl in the harsh winter.This book gave a good
depiction of a slower paced, quieter time peroid in
history.It is a big contrast to the times we live in
today.I had a difficult time relating to the main
character and the different ways of this time period.
Perhaps this book would be more interesting to a younger
age reader or someone much older who might reflect on
memories of their childhood.

Reviewed by a young adult student reviewer
Flamingnet Book Reviews
[...]

This should be a children's picture book.
I'm aware this book is part of a series, but from the opening pages I was confused as to why the author wanted to write this story in this fashion. Essentially a memoir, why wasn't this story told as an illustrated picture book for young children? Or, conversely, as a completely adult work in the style of, say, Willa Cather? Because as it is it comes off as drab, mealy storytelling, rather than energetic, charming and nostalgic, as it should have. Not only is the writing stiff and awkward on more than one occasion, but it then veers into adult descriptions of meteorology or farming that seem entirely out of place in the narrative. The idea of being trapped for the winter without any contact with the outside world - which is what I thought the story was leading towards - wasn't actually what happened, or, at least, didn't happen to the protagonist...which makes for a bit of a boring story, frankly. Ultimately, the book fell far short of its mark for me.

Slow moving story...
I received this book from the Vine program, not realizing it was a "young reader" book.The story was ok, but a bit slow-moving and sort of an updated "Little House" tale of a family's struggle through a harsh winter in the country.I suppose a young reader might enjoy the book, though it doesn't offer much to draw the reader in.One issue I had with the book is that the voice of the narrator does not seem age-appropriate.In other words, much of the narrative seemed more mature than a 12-year old.I really didn't care for the book at all--though I hate to post a negative review as I am not the target audience for it. ... Read more

Product Description
Examines the history of unique national monument in the Black Hills of South Dakota, Mount Rushmore, discussing financial issues, government involvement, and the actual process of carving this memorial. ... Read more

Product Description
In Arden, South Dakota a mere 700 people reside, most of which are old farmers, even older farmers, and the bankers who own most of their earthly possessions. The story begins as Matt Hanens, Arden native, returns home after a five year absence. Matt had become a small time celebrity before leaving town right out of high school, having written a book about what could have been the only interesting event happening there in years.

As Matt enters town, he reflects on childhood memories including his impressions on rural America, his "one hit wonder" novel, and how his life hadn't turned out as he'd expected. He arrives in front of his father's house, sees one of the last two copies of his book Checking Out Of Arden in his car's back seat, and begins to read it.

While Matt was in high school, the area was shocked to hear of the killing of two of its young people by one troubled young man, who shortly after had killed himself. Everything was explained in a note left behind by the killer, 17-year-old Brian Williams, addressed to his best friend Matt. Matt first explains his relationship and impressions of Brian, then includes what he read in the note which details the love triangle leading his friend to murder, and to take his own life.

Through a long night alone with Brian's year-long diary, Matt learns of the jealousy, betrayal and lies which led up to his friend's untimely death, and the terrible secrets Brian Williams had left behind. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Amazing
This guy is fantastic.His descriptions, his dialogue and his ability to tell a story are marvelous and covertly sophisticated.The copy I read has been passed around and passed around and everyone who reads it has been really bowled over by it.Pay the additional cost, you won't regret it.I just wish he would write another book.I may go Kathy Bates and lock him up in a remote location until he finishes another novel.Thanks for writing this Ryan!

Kept me from work for a day
I'd heard about this book and balked a little at the extra charge to get it, but it turned out to be very addictive.I was going to get started with a couple pages one morning before work last week, and by the time the day was done I was still at home, reading.Brian Williams is an easy character to relate to, and I've had similar experiences to those he's had.it's kind of disturbing what our children are doing to themselves these days.I also read a lot of mystery books, but the ending still came as a surprise to me. ... Read more