Paper Dreams Review on Wildwood by Elinor Florence

I received Wildwood by Elinor Florence from Dundurn Press, which is an independent publisher of Canadian stories. It was in a winter press package along with The God Game by Jeffrey Round, you can read my review on it here. Anyways, as soon as I read the synopsis I knew I would be interested in this story and of course…I was right.

{Synopsis from Goodreads}

A single mother. An abandoned farmhouse. An epic battle with the northern wilderness.
Broke and desperate, Molly Bannister accepts the ironclad condition laid down in her great-aunt’s will: to receive her inheritance, Molly must spend one year in an abandoned, off-the-grid farmhouse in the remote backwoods of northern Alberta. If she does, she will be able to sell the farm and fund her four-year-old daughter’s badly needed medical treatment.
With grim determination, Molly teaches herself basic homesteading skills. But her greatest perils come from the brutal wilderness itself, from blizzards to grizzly bears. Will she and her child survive the savage winter? Will she outsmart the idealist young farmer who would thwart her plan to sell the farm? Not only their financial future, but their very lives are at stake. Only the journal written by Molly’s courageous great-aunt, the land’s original homesteader, inspires her to struggle on.

*****

The Setting

So for one thing, I’m from Saskatchewan – only a province over from Alberta and near the setting of the fictional abandoned farmhouse(Wildwood) by the fictional town of Juniper, Alberta that is meant to represent early colonies such as Peace River, Manning and Beaver Lodge in northern Alberta. I don’t personally live in the middle of nowhere like the farmhouse is intended to be but if you’re from the prairies chances are you’ve been on a farm in the middle of nowhere at some point in your life. So I could easily relate to the main character Molly when she first arrives at the farmhouse, full of dread but also- determination.

The author did a wonderful job of incorporating the seasons and capturing how Molly and her daughter either struggled or progressed with them. I was reading this novel at the beginning of February and it was still very cold here so I was relating with Molly and how she felt about the cold as well- agonizing over how long the winter feels and how it seems like it’s never going to end.

Mother- daughter show

The author focused heavily on Molly and Bridget’s survival and their relationship with each other, which I adored. I loved Bridget and the quirky things she would say, I was reminded of one my friends daughters who is around the same age who also says similar things so it was totally believable to me. I also love the character development within Bridget, she’s just a child but she has trouble speaking or being around people. She needs a lot of therapy, so the therapist claims. However, now she’s in an environment where she isn’t around anyone and one would think that this would do more damage than good to her as she needs to be around people to conquer her fear but it’s amazing what a different setting and simply being around nature can do to someone, especially a young, impressionable child. This development was one of my favorite parts of the story.

I would have preferred more romance in the story, one of my own little nit- picky things because I’m a sucker for it but I still really enjoyed Molly’s personal story and how she coped with raising Bridget and being determined to live a homesteader life. I liked the practicality of it all and the way it seemed like this really could be a true story. Also, loved that she wrote in scenes with the neighbors helping her out because this is totally accurate to most farmers and rural communities in the prairies!

I love side characters!

I was intrigued by another side character in the book, a little girl named Wynona Bearspaw from a neighbouring Indian reserve. I enjoyed reading about her character and wished there had been more scenes with her. I wanted to scoop Wynona up and take her home but I settled with Molly treating her with kindness and inviting her into her home. I liked the dynamic between Molly, Bridget and Wynona – the friendship and love that grows from their interactions is really sweet and another favorite part of this story for me!

Sequel?

A follow up would be lovely. I would love to read a sequel of this story but when Bridget is older and so she can narrate what has happened and how the rest of her childhood developed who she becomes. Adding a multiple point of view from grown-up Wynona as well. My hopes!

Rating

Overall rating: ****/5

Recommend?

Yes, I would definitely recommend for those looking for an interesting read about a single mother braving the wild isolation of the prairies while also learning more about Canada and its early homesteaders! I would rate it as PG 13, no illicit language or x-rated scenes. Elinor Florence did a wonderful job of creating a heartwarming and impressionable story that I know I’ll be recommending to others! Also, if you’re unfamiliar with Canadian currency, sports and agriculture be prepared for quite a few conversations about it! I love that our currency bills make others think of it as ‘monopoly’ money, haha!

Happy Reading!

Click HERE to buy Wildwood by Elinor Florence! 🙂