An Untamed Land (Red River of the North Book #1)

Lauraine Snelling

May 2006 · Red River of the North Book 1 · Baker Books

About this ebook

Proud of Their Heritage and Sustained by Their Faith, They Came to Tame a New Land

She had promised herself that once they left the fjords of Norway, she would not look back. After three long years of scrimping and saving to buy tickets for their passage to America, Roald and Ingeborg Bjorklund, along with their son, Thorliff, finally arrive at the docks of New York City. It was the promise of free land that fed their dream and lured them from their beloved home high above the fjords of Norway in 1880. Together with Roald's brother Carl and his family, they will build a good life in a new land that promises untold wealth and vast farmsteads for their children. As they join the throngs of countless immigrants passing through Castle Garden, they soon discover that nothing is as they had envisioned it. Appalled by the horrid stories of fellow immigrants bilked of all their money and forced to live in squalid living conditions, the Bjorklunds continue their long journey by train as far as Grand Forks. From there a covered wagon takes them into Dakota Territory, where they settle on the banks of the Red River. But there was no way for them to foresee the price they will have to pay to wrest a living from the indomitable land. The virgin prairie refuses to yield its treasure without a struggle. Will they be strong enough to overcome the hardships of that first winter?

Ratings and reviews

I started out liking this book it was full of great details. Then came the sadness and the Heartbreak that the families had to go through and I kind of wish that I had never started it. It turned out okay in the end but I still almost feel like I had wasted time on this book.

I love historical fiction and pretty much make a diet a Christian historical fiction. This book was beyond satisfying. I laughed and I cried. Boy, did I cry. I think that the author had just the perfect amount of relationship with God, as well as relationship with each character so that it was moving and compelling and made you involved and made you look internally at your own relationship with Christ when you have hard times. I highly recommend this book I can't wait to start the next in the series.

This book will draw you in as an immigrant coming to America with dreams of the future and the pain of leaving all you ever known. Recommending this.book to anyone that loves to read...

About the author

Lauraine Snelling is an award winning author of over 30 books, both fiction and non fiction for adults and young adults. She has two horse series for young teen girls, the GOLDEN FILLY SERIES which is completed and HIGH HURDLES. Lauraine is also the author of the popular RED RIVER OF THE NORTH series set in North Dakota in the past part of the 19th century. The Bjorklund brothers bring their families from Norway to begin a new life on the land they will turn from prairie to fertile farms.

Besides writing both books and articles, Lauraine teaches at writer's conferences across the country and has an active speaking career. She and husband Wayne have two grown sons, four grand dogs and live in the country where Lauraine can garden, sew, do crafts, cross stitch, enjoy her birds and eventually have a horse again.