It has been a long and difficult year for the Decker family, especially for sixteen-year-old Brooke. Her grades have plummeted. She deliberately breaks curfew. She makes out with boys she hardly knows.
And now her father has totally lost it. When Tim Decker signs up his family of three to be contestants on a Hollywood reality show, Brooke’s life turns upside down. The place: The North Carolina … North Carolina backcountry. The year: 1861.
Brooke is forced to trade in her Victoria’s Secret bra for a rib-cracking corset, her comfy jeans for an ugly farm dress, and her private bathroom for an outhouse. Television cameras will follow her every move as she lives the grueling life of a mid-nineteenth-century farm girl: milking a cow, churning butter, fetching water countless times a day, and riding in a horse-drawn wagon along a rutted road to spend pennies in town.
This will be Brooke’s life for four awful months. Unless, of course, she breaks the rules and the producers kick her off the show…
Other families are scattered throughout Sweet Sugar Gap. The snotty Prudence Miller soon becomes Brooke’s rival. Wendell Murphy, who works at the local mercantile, is instantly smitten with Brooke—but also makes her suspicious. Does the only cute boy in town really like her, or is he merely showing off for the cameras?
Brooke Decker may just have to find a way to make it in the backcountry, leaving behind the modern frills she can’t live without. But can a young girl’s wishful heart surrender to a time and place she believes she can never call home?
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This is a Young Adult Retelling Kindof. I have to say I love the Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, so I had to read this book when I ran across it. I just finish reading this book, and it was nothing like what I was thinking it would be. It was so much better then I thought it would be. I loved it. There was so many times while I was reading this book I ask myself could I do that. I think if you loved the Little House on the Prairie then you will love this book. I loved Brooke, and the characters was so developed in this book. I loved the storyline in this story. There was twists and turns in this book that I did not see coming. This was a great book not just a good book. This book is about a teenager and her family being thrown into a 1860’s town like the Little House on the Prairie. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.
4 stars – Quick, entertaining read about a trip back to the homestead days of the 19th century
I really enjoyed this story of Brooke and her family ending up on a reality show about the life of homesteaders in the midde of the 19th century!
Brooke’s family has been through a lot after losing her mother to cancer. Brooke has been struggling ever since: in school, with substance abuse, with bad decisions. She is in a bad place and her father is worried about her. He comes up with the idea to audition with their familiy, comprised of him, Brooke and her baby sister Rebecca Lynn, for a reality show in which the contestants are assigned a role in a village of the 19th century and they have to live an authentic life for 4 months.
The more authentic, the higher the chances of winning the show.
They are picked for the show and Brooke is thrown into a lifestyle with no running water or electricity, awfully uncomfortable clothes and a huge amount of hard work to do. There’s a pig to be fed, a cow to be milked, crops to be grown, chickens to be tended to, cooking to be done on a wood stove and so much more.
At first, Brooke hates everything but slowly she grows into this new life, finds out a lot about herself and what she actually needs and finally finds the space to grieve.
Of course there is also a boy her age who doesn’t seem to be all that bad but also there’s Prudence, the rich, spoiled girl from next door who seems to be determined to make Brooke’s life as difficult as possible. Will Brooke persevere? Will her family win the show?
This coming-of-age story was well written, the characters were sufficiently fleshed out, the pacing was good with just the right amount of mysteries and plot twists thrown in to keep you turning the pages. I also very much enjoyed reading about life back then and just how much hard work and creativity was needed just to keep afloat. The details about everyday life in such a village community and the different chores to take care of seemed authentic and well-researched.
I would have liked the characterizations to have been a little bit more in-depth, a little more complex. Other than that I really enjoyed this one and can heartily recommend this book to a variety of readers!
I have received a digital review copy via BookSirens and voluntarily provide my honest opinion. Thank you!
I didn’t know what to expect when I decided to read Upside Down in a Laura Ingalls Town. I’m glad I didn’t go in expecting anything but a book to read that I might or might not enjoy. The verdict: I enjoyed it!!! ALOT!
Brooke, her sister, and dad lost their mom/wife to cancer. That is never easy and dealing with a loss like this, people do different things. Well Brooke’s dad spoiled his girls, private school, new car, anything to make the loss of their mom sting less.
Then comes an opportunity, a venture to live off the radar of the Modern World for four months, Brooke is NOT happy about this. She is losing prom, her summer, time with her friends, and for what, to pretend she’s in the1860’s!!!
I won’t lie, Brooke doesn’t deal well, but who in today’s world would? Many ups and downs will come in these pages as you read it. Keep your mind open, feel what the characters feel, and never expect you know what is happening from moment to moment.
I laughed, I felt Brooke’s ‘pain’, and I cried. I am so happy I was given the opportunity to read this book. This is my 2nd book from Leslie and like the 1st, I wasn’t disappointed.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I LOVE this book! It puts such a great contemporary spin on historical fiction. The time period details were fantastic and effortlessly woven into the story. The story was interesting, the characters were engaging, and I didn’t want the story to end! It would be so cool if there was a sequel. This would be a good addition to any list for book studies/literature circles becayse it will engage reluctant and avid readers alike. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.