The children hide on an island near Mankato, Minnesota, discovering a murdered Indian child. This deeply disturbs Mose, who asks to be called by his Sioux name Amdacha (Broken-to-Pieces) from then on. Papers in the local library reveal his namesake great-uncle was killed in the mass execution there during the Dakota War of 1862. Odie gets lost in a Bonus Army riot. Following harmonica music to a local Hooverville, he joins the Schofields, an extended family of dispossessed Kansas farmers fleeing the Dust Bowl. The children eventually reunite, and Albert repairs the Schofields's car while Odie develops a romance with their girl Maybeth. He gives their alcoholic father gas money, and the groups separate. As he turned to leave, Volz put a hand on my shoulder, the briefest of gestures, but I appreciated what it meant. One of my all-time favorite books is Ordinary Grace, a book I gave 5 stars and have read twice, even though I rarely re-read books. I was highly anticipating the author’s new release and was thrilled when offered a review copy by the publisher. Why does Odie trust Sister Eve so wholeheartedly, but not her partner, Sid? Do you think he’s right to draw the conclusions he does about Sid from their interactions? How do some of Odie’s misjudgments lead to disastrous consequences? In your opinion, is what happens to Albert in some way Odie’s fault?

A magnificent novel about four orphans on a life-changing odyssey during the Great Depression, from the bestselling author of Ordinary Grace . For me, here’s the beauty of this experience. When all the expectations were lifted from my shoulders and I felt free again, I saw almost immediately the story I should have been writing, a completely different kind of story, one deeply personal. I’ve been at work on that manuscript for the past three years. This Tender Land is the result. Following the three friends and Emmy down the Mississippi river and meeting the folks along the River was mesmerizing. Do you think Mose’s story is a reminder of the resilience and strength shown by marginalized communities, even in the face of great adversity? Odie was likeable and good at heart. I liked that he questioned God throughout the book. This was part of his journey, trying to find his identity. We see him at the beginning of the book, mad at God, and painting the water tower with “God is a tornado” to being almost a man by the end of it.

Study Pack

They encountered too many merciless, mean, savage people but also they met kind, generous people who extend their helping hands which gave them enough joy, hope to survive the hand the life dealt. Lying on my blanket beside Albert, I was happy to have him for a brother, though I had no intention of telling him so. I didn’t always understand him, and I knew that, more often than not, I was a bafflement to him as well, but the heart isn’t the logical organ of the body, and I loved my brother deeply and fell asleep in the warmth of his company.” You shouldn’t skip the author’s note in the end which describes his research process, not just reading books but by traveling to places where the characters traveled. In a letter to readers at the beginning of the book, Kruger writes, “In asking you to read This Tender Land, I am, in a way, offering you my heart.” What can I say to that except, thanks to you for touching mine. FOUR YEARS HAD passed between that first night and the one I’d just spent in the quiet room. I’d grown some, changed some.The old, frightened Odie O’Banion was, like my mother and father, long dead. The Odie I was now had a penchant for rebellion.

Lively . . . Krueger’s enjoyable riff on The Odyssey will satisfy fans of American heartland epics.” As Albert and Odie set out on their journey, they rely on each other for support and guidance. However, as the journey progresses, Odie begins to feel that Albert is becoming distant and uninterested in their friendship. This tension comes to a head when Albert decides to stay in St. Paul to work on boats, leaving Odie to continue on alone. Book review: 'This Tender Land' a harrowing Depression-era coming-of-age tale". Sun Sentinel . Retrieved 2022-08-05. This is the first person account of “the four vagabonds,” told by 12-year-old harmonica-playing, storytelling Odie. It is 1932, in the midst of the Depression, and Odie, his older brother, Albert, their Indian friend, Mose, and six-year-old Emmy are traveling by canoe to what Odie hopes is home in St. Louis. All four are orphans who had been living in unacceptable circumstances at an Indian boarding school in Minnesota with its vicious superintendent. The life they are leaving is based on what really did go on at many Indian boarding schools. I read because books are a form of transportation, of teaching, and of connection! Books take us to places we’ve never been, they teach us about our world, and they help us to understand human experience.”

Volz spoke with a German accent, so his w’s sounded like v’s and his v’s like f’s. What he’d said came out, “She vants to see you. I haf to take you.” This Tender Land is a coming of age book that has spirituality as one of its main theme. What did you think about the spiritual path of the book? Did you find it too much? Did it put you off? They encounter a traveling tent revival and Sister Eve: ". . . A woman held center stage. Her hair was a long, sleek tumble the color of fox fur, and she wore a flowing white robe whose long hem trailed behind her as she moved."

Discuss the role that he played in the book with specific scenarios that made you wonder about his altruistic abilities. FOUR YEARS HAD passed between that first night and the one I’d just spent in the quiet room. I’d grown some, changed some. The old, frightened Odie O’Banion was, like my mother and father, long dead. The Odie I was now had a penchant for rebellion.

Table of Contents

A book you won’t own. It will own you. Long, sprawling, and utterly captivating, readers will eat up every delicious word of it.” Krueger takes the reader to a time in the not-too-distant past when children had virtually no rights, especially if, as in this case, they were orphans or Native American children forcibly removed from their parents. While there were, of course, many genuinely good people amongst those in a guardianship role, a significant number of these children were at the mercy of unscrupulous adults who revelled in cruelty and to whom kindness was a foreign concept. The author showcases the world through the eyes of a young boy who sees the good in everything he sets his eyes on. It transforms the reader into that young boy who is full of hope and life and despite the hardships that they come across, they still want to push forward. The writing is graceful, and the characters are very welcoming. She was in a rowboat on a river. I was in a boat, too, trying to catch up with her, trying to see her face. But no matter how hard I rowed, she was always too far ahead.” Discuss the idea of home for each of the characters—Mose, Albert, Odie, and Emmy. In the end why do you think they chose the homes they did? What made each place home for each character? Do you hold a similar definition of home or not?

William Kent Kruger’s This Tender Land is an epic adventure, a story that takes us on a journey through one boy’s Depression-blighted summer of 1932. Fans of historical fiction will love this well-researched tale.”If you’re among of the millions (no hyperbole!) who raced through Where the Crawdads Sing this year and are looking for another expansive, atmospheric American saga, look to the latest from Kreuger ( Ordinary Grace), set in the Great Depression and centered on four young loners forced to set off on their own.” Hoovervilles (named for President Herbert Hoover) were shantytowns that sprang up all across America during the Great Depression for homeless individuals and families. In difficult times like this, how do people like the Schofields survive? Is there an expectation that the government will help them, or do they look to other sources for assistance? How do the residents of this particular Hooverville pull together? How are they driven apart? The book takes place during the Great Depression. Discuss the characters’ interactions with Hoovervilles and the Flats. Did the residents seem hopeless to you or hopeful despite their circumstances? Discuss the differences between the Schofields and Gertie and her friends. Why do you think Odie feels such an allegiance to such people? The unforgettable story of four orphans who travel the Mississippi River on a life-changing odyssey during the Great Depression.