After their mother dies, Haidie Richards and her younger brother, Boots, are put to work in an orphanage. Their father left four years earlier to find a gold mine in Colorado Territory, and since then he’s sent only three letters. Still, Haidie is certain that he is alive, has struck gold, and will soon send for them.
But patience is not one of Haidie’s virtues and soon she and her brother make a break for it. Boots and Haidie, disguised as a boy, embark on a dangerous journey deep into Western territory. Along the way, Haidie learns fast not only how to handle mules, oxen, and greedy men, but also that you are better off in a community. Hers includes a card shark, independent “spinster” sisters, and a very fierce dog. Once she arrives in Colorado and finds out the truth about her father, Haidie will need all her new friends for a get-even plot worthy of The Sting.
Filled with vivid period detail, colorful characters, and the irreverent voice of our scrappy heroine, Tough Luck celebrates both the tenacity of youth and the persistence of the heart in the great American West.
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First line:
Ma hadn't been in the ground more than an hour when my brother Cheet sold the farm.
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Source:
Source:
Netgalley eARC in exchange for an honest review
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Rating:
DNF @ 53%
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From the description, I thought Haidie would be older, but she is 14 in the novel. I was trying to push through the book, because a heist style revenge plot sounds fun. However, at 53% Haidie and her brother Boots are still trekking across the prairie to get to Colorado to find their dad. It also felt like nothing much had happened.
There are lots of misspellings that are intentional in the characters speech, but they were in how everybody talked so I couldn't tell if they were to portray an accent or to portray little to no education. They were just annoying and unnneccessary to me ("Hoor" instead of "whore"; "buffaler" instead of "buffalo").
All the characters also felt very one dimensional. I never felt attached to any of them and never felt like there was any growth happening either.
Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me.
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