Review: 1860s Drama
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 21, 2014
When I read the description of WALLS FOR THE WIND and discovered the book took place in the time after the Civil War, plus it started in New York City, continued to Wyoming, and included Orphan Trains, I knew I had to read it.Alethea Williams did a great job of describing the harsh conditions that immigrants and the orphans of immigrants endured in the slums of New York City during this era. No wonder so many of them decided to head west! I also came to understand why Orphan Trains were seen as a good solution for the problem of so many abandoned and orphaned children. Her portrayal of the frontier towns that sprang up along the railroads gave me a new appreciation for the difficulties those settlers and workers had to endure. Women were especially vulnerable in those lawless times. Williams painted a vivid picture of her protagonist Katharine (“Kit”), making me hope she’d be able to overcome all the challenges she faced. Sometimes Kit seemed too good to be true, but I could see how her background would lead her to adhere to her code of behavior so strictly. Her inflexibility was both her strength and her weakness.Although I felt that the writing would benefit from some tightening and the pacing seemed to be a little off at times, the story kept me interested. The book takes place during the 1860s, and anyone who is interested in learning more about the day-to-day reality of life during that period would definitely enjoy this story. I did.