The Ytterhorn family works hard through the summer to prepare for their first winter on the North Dakota prairie. They’re happy when two new families arrive, but the Olsens and the Smiths are unprepared for winter. The Ytterhorns extend a helping hand, and together, the group forms a community. But tragedy strikes, and the families must make a decision that will change their family dynamics forever.
The second book of the Homesteaders series traces the Ytterhorn family through its first year in the Dakota Territory. Having arrived in May of 1868, the novel opens at the end of the summer with the family well-positioned to survive the harsh winter ahead. They have staked their claim of 160 acres, built a log house, raised crops, acquired livestock, and settled into the rhythm and routine of life, forming a tight family unit in the process. Still, the homestead is a lonely place.
So when the Olsen family arrives from Norway to claim the adjacent plot of land, the Ytterhorns are happy. However, it is September, and they worry that the newcomers are unprepared for the winter season. Soon a third family arrives and settles nearby, and not only are the Smiths unprepared, but Sam Smith seems to prefer the quickest and easiest way to go about trying to establish his homestead, often in ill-advised ways. Even so, the Ytterhorns extend a warm welcome to their new neighbors and help them at every turn. Together, the group forms a community of both giving and sharing.
Soon the families establish both a church and a school, carving for themselves traditional elements of civilization out of the vast and wild prairie. Rebekka Ytterhorn and Anna Olsen both give birth before the new year begins, adding life and joy to the community, but before long tragedy strikes with the arrival of a smallpox epidemic, and the families are forever changed by the losses that each of them suffers. Now working together is not just helpful but critical for survival. By summer, the remaining members of the Ytterhorn and Olsen families make a decision that changes their family dynamics in a way that is both practical and also beautifully heartwarming.
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