Walk on Earth a Stranger
Walk on Earth a Stranger
By: Rae Carson
I picked this book off of a shelf in an Omaha bookstore because I liked the cover. Simple as that. (It wasn’t the same Omaha trip as the big Book Haul.) I saw the cover and loved the title, though I couldn’t put my finger on why. Remember how I started to read The Lightning Queen because I thought it was going to resemble Little House on the Prairie? And it wasn’t? Well, Walk on Earth a Stranger is a book about the Gold Rush and frontier life. So I had to buy it. And I’m very glad I did.
This is the story of Leah Westfall and her journey West to California. She can sense gold, which makes her good at panning for gold in the stream near her parent’s farm. It’s no wonder the Gold Rush makes her antsy. Unfortunately, her father is unwell so she doesn’t feel like she can leave. You can probably guess what happens next—the gold sensing girl wants to go west but can’t because she has obligations. Get rid of the obligations. Her parents are murdered, leaving her an orphan with an uncle with an agenda. It doesn’t take long for her to follow her best friend, Jefferson, who left a few days ahead of her. Leah goes disguised as a boy and calls herself Lee.
The rest of the book is all about the journey and the trials she meets along the way. I don’t want to give too much away.
So why did I like this book so much?
1. It told a story in a historical time period that is nostalgic for me.
2. It added a touch of magic to one of my favorite era’s growing up.
3. It told the story of two friends who love each other without being overly mushy.
4 It’s the story of a girl who can hold her own and be strong.
5. It doesn’t shy away from topics that can be hard to talk about.
6. Rae Carson didn’t pull any punches when talking about some of the legitimate dangers on the journey west. (But she also didn’t make it too gruesome. There is good balance.)
7. The characters are multidimensional and interesting.
8. The title of the book comes from the line in a hymn, which is explained in the book.
I could go on. The point is that it’s a very good book with excellent writing and a great story. I can’t wait to read the other books in this series—the sequel doesn’t come out until September, and I will impatiently wait.
