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71st out of 336 books
—
2,049 voters
The Year We Were Famous
by
Carole Estby Dagg (Goodreads Author)
With their family home facing foreclosure, seventeen-year-old Clara Estby and her mother, Helga, need to raise a lot of money fast—no easy feat for two women in 1896. Helga wants to tackle the problem with her usual loud and flashy style, while Clara favors a less showy approach. Together they come up with a plan to walk the 4,600 miles from Mica Creek, Washington, to New...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
April 4th 2011
by Clarion Books
(first published March 15th 2011)
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Desperate to earn enough money to save the family farm in 1896, thirty-five-year-old Helga Estby comes up with the idea of walking across the country, starting near Spokane, Washington, and ending in New York City. Her daughter, Clara, accompanies her at the request of Clara's father who is worried about his wife's stamina. Dressed in their finest clothing and carrying satchels, the two set off across the country, intending to work in exchange for food and shelter along the way. Of course, they...more
The Year We Were Famous (by Carole Estby Dagg) was an engaging historical novel. This is a wonderful adventure story of a real mother-daughter team, Helga and Clara, taking proactive action to save the family farm in the late 1800s. Carole Estby Dagg's telling of this true story is through the eyes of the teenage daughter Clara and uses well researched intelligent prose to fill unknown details. In a series of heartfelt, frightening and sometimes dangerous or frustrating adventures, the two women...more
The Year We Were Famous (by Carole Estby Dagg) is an amazing and heartfelt novel about a teenage girl’s walk across the United States with her mother in the 1890s—all for the sake of a bet to win the $10,000 prize that can save their farm in eastern Washington state. The story is engaging on at least three levels. First (perhaps foremost), it is a story of adventure: the fears, hardships, and deprivations along the 6-month trek from Mica Creek, WA to New York City as told from the point of view...more
Let us establish one thing first. Calvin Coolidge was not president before William McKinley, and was not responsible for the economic troubles of 1896. Cleveland was president then, and thus can have some of the blame.
If you are wondering why I need to state this, then you should know that Mrs. Dagg wrote that Coolidge was president during the 1896 election. After reading this gross historical inaccuracy which I hope was changed in later copies of this book, my gut was screaming at me to abandon...more
If you are wondering why I need to state this, then you should know that Mrs. Dagg wrote that Coolidge was president during the 1896 election. After reading this gross historical inaccuracy which I hope was changed in later copies of this book, my gut was screaming at me to abandon...more
The Year We Were Famous is a fictionalized account of a Norwegian=American mother and daughter who in 1896 walked from Mica Creek, Washington to New York City in hopes of saving their family farm. The author is the Great granddaughter of Helga, the mother, a suffragist and undoubtedly bipolar, who made a bet to reach New York City by foot by a specific date. They set out in their long dresses and corsets, each with a satchel containing some medical supplies, a change of socks, journals and a can...more
Seventeen-year-old Clara longs to escape the confines of her family homestead in small Mica Creek, near Spokane, Washington. But finances are tight, and the family is in danger of losing their home and land if they don’t raise the money needed. When Helga, Clara’s mother, comes up with a plan to walk from their home to New York City as a way to earn money, Clara goes with her. The question is, will her trip show a way for her to leave home forever, or will it bind Clara more tightly to the famil...more
Debut novelist Carole Estby Dagg was inspired by her own family history to write the delightful new young adult historical novel, The Year We Were Famous. Based on the true story of the author's great-aunt and great-grandmother, this adventure-filled novel set at the time of the suffragist movement tells the tale of 17-year old Clara Estby and her mother, Helga, who decide to walk clear across the United States from the small Norwegian-American farming community of Mica Creek, Washington to New...more
Apr 24, 2013
Sally Kruger
added it
It is 1896 and Clara Estby is seventeen. Her goal is to attend college and become a writer, but first she must help her family. Her mother Helga recently took to her bed claiming she suffers from consumption. Clara is used to her mother's bouts of what is likely depression, and she tries her best to lend a hand caring for her siblings and her father.
Clara knows another concern her mother has is the threat of losing the family farm. Harvest have been extremely poor in recent years and the bank ma...more
Clara knows another concern her mother has is the threat of losing the family farm. Harvest have been extremely poor in recent years and the bank ma...more
From the very first pages The Year We Were Famousstruck me as an original tale. The story of a mother-daughter team heading walking across the United States in 1896 as a way to make money to save their farm is unusual enough, but when the mother obviously suffers from undiagnosed bi-polar disorder--now you're getting interesting!
Carol Estby Dagg does an excellent job of creatively re-telling the story of her great-aunt and great-grandmother through the eyes of Great-Aunt Clara. I thought this fi...more
Carol Estby Dagg does an excellent job of creatively re-telling the story of her great-aunt and great-grandmother through the eyes of Great-Aunt Clara. I thought this fi...more
While browsing for books for the Western Genre Challenge, The Year We Were Famous caught my eye. The story of a mother and daughter crossing the United States on foot. In the 1890's. Sounds intriguing. I'm glad I gave it a chance. It was certainly an interesting story.
Clara and Helga Estby decided to walk across the United States to help save their farm in Mica Creek, Washington. They owed a $1000 in back taxes and couldn't think of a way to raise without doing something drastic. Helga was oppos...more
Clara and Helga Estby decided to walk across the United States to help save their farm in Mica Creek, Washington. They owed a $1000 in back taxes and couldn't think of a way to raise without doing something drastic. Helga was oppos...more
I picked this book up because it sounded interesting. A mother and daughter undertake a transcontinental walk from Spokane, Washington to New York City. Based on the true story of the author's grandmother and great-aunt, it is quite an uplifting story of family, determination, and courage. I very much enjoyed the book and felt the author captured the emotions of the two women as they proceeded on their journey quite well. The voice of Clara rang true as that of an 18 year old girl trying to bala...more
Jun 02, 2011
Kerri
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
young-adult,
historical-fiction
This historical fiction novel is based on the author's Great-Aunt and Great Grandmother's trek from Spokane Washington to New York City. In an attempt to save their farm in Mica Creek, Clara's mother, Helga, tries to make money by walking from the West Coast to the East Coast. This was during the women's suffrage movement so their hopes were not only to raise money but to show support that women can do things on their own--including the right to vote.
I think this is a great book for girls and fa...more
I think this is a great book for girls and fa...more
Clara Estby and her mother Helga set out to walk across the United States in 1896 from Spokane Washington to New York City in order to save the family farm. A publisher has promised them money if they complete the trip in nine months. WOW! All I could think about since I have driven from Chicago to Spokane more than once was Wyoming, mountains,lack of water, snakes and Indians.
This is a wonderful book in a lot of ways. It offers insights on woman's issues, 19th century America and mother-daught...more
This is a wonderful book in a lot of ways. It offers insights on woman's issues, 19th century America and mother-daught...more
Now this is a stinkin' cute YA historical fiction. I'll be honest, HF is not my strong suit and I have been trying to read more in this genre. I happened to win this copy from The Class of 2k11 last month, and the book has writing in the margins from Dagg filled with insider information. Notes about what made the cut from original drafts, and scenes based on photographs or other writings. These little tidbits were so enjoyable that I wish all of my books were like this.
The Year We Were Famous i...more
The Year We Were Famous i...more
This novel is based on the lives of the author's own great-aunt and great-grandmother, who walked from Mica Creek, WA to New York City in 1896. Along the way, they met plenty of different people, from Native Americans to President McKinley, although the story is really about the development of mother and daughter as they face their challenges together. The author embellished and invented a bit as she needed to fill in the gaps (the two main love interests for the girl are completely fictional),...more
The Year We Were Famous
Carole Estby Dagg
Historical
Grade 6 and up
288 pages
Set in 1896, The Year We Were Famous is based on the true story of the author’s great aunt and great-great grandmother. It’s a fast-paced historical adventure that will please all.
In order to save her family’s farm, seventeen-year old Clara Estby and her mother, Helga, set out to walk across the United States in hopes of raising enough money to save the farm from foreclosure. They start in Spokane, Washington and work their...more
1 like · like · see review
I was disappointed by this one. It sounded like such a fabulous concept - the fictionalized version of the author's great grandmother and great aunt walking from Spokane to New York in order to raise money to save their farm and serve as models of female empowerment. Unfortunately, I was left wanting by the actual writing of the book, which felt like it focused too much on the events that occurred and not enough on the character's feelings and reactions, as I had hoped. I'm actually kind of sad...more
Loved this book, especially as a campanion to Linda Hunt's "Bold Spirit" about the walk Helga and Clara Estby took across the country from Spokane WA to NY in 1896. The author of this book, Carole Estby Dagg, is Helga's great-granddaughter. She spent 15 years writing this book, especially written for young adults. It is a fictional account of the walk told in Clara's voice. I was fortunate enough to hear Carole speak about her book in the town where I live. The walk itself is testament to two gr...more
An interesting historical book on two women, Clara and Helga, who walk across country from Spokane to NYC in hopes of saving the family farm by earning $10000 by finishing the walk in 7 months. The book was written by the great grandmother of one of the women, thus many things in the book are based on fact, though conversations and other things have been fictionalized. The two women have many adventures along the way, meeting Indians and the president-elect McKinley, surviving a blizzard, and pa...more
In 1896, the Estbys' homestead in Spokane, WA, is in threat of foreclosure. On a whim, Helga Estby makes a bet with a publisher in New York City that she and her daughter Clara will walk across the country in seven months' time so that they can save their farm.
Set against the backdrop of the burgeoning American West and the suffragist movement, this YA novel is seen through Clara Estby's eyes. She recounts their difficulties in traversing the country. The details of clothing, useful items, and t...more
Set against the backdrop of the burgeoning American West and the suffragist movement, this YA novel is seen through Clara Estby's eyes. She recounts their difficulties in traversing the country. The details of clothing, useful items, and t...more
It's the late 1800s, just before the turn of the century, and you're about to lose your farm in Washington due to tough economic times. How are you going to save the family farm? Helga Estby decides to walk clear across the country, from Mica Creek to New York City, with her teenaged daughter Clara, in order to earn $10,000 from a mysterious benefactor. This book, written by a descendant of these intrepid women, details the adventures and disappointments they encountered along the way. I agree w...more
I feel bad giving this a 2 star rating. I think it might edge up there closer to three. I have this guilt about dissing a story written about the author's own family but I just couldn't get that excited about this book and kept wanting to quit except it had been assigned reading. And I was interested to see what would happen in the end, would the young woman decide on one boy or the other? Would they get the money and save the farm? Would she and her mother come to an understanding of the world...more
This is a novel aimed at ages 12 and up but I thoroughly enjoyed it and I am way past 12... The year is 1896, the setting a small, struggling farm in Washington state. The mother, Helga rarely gets out of bed, the father has a back problem, there are a total of 8 living children, the oldest being Clara. Clara has to take care of everything.. but there's one thing she cannot do: save their family's farm.
So.. her mom comes up with this idea: they will walk all the way from Spokane to New York. Yes...more
So.. her mom comes up with this idea: they will walk all the way from Spokane to New York. Yes...more
I really wanted to love this--it's based on a true story, it's historical fiction of the Patricia Beatty sort, but the author's enthusiasm for her family story just didn't translate as well into a YA book as it could have in the hands of someone like Beatty. The ending was particularly awkward--the author seems to have wanted a more uplifting ending instead of sticking to the real story, but somehow the ending just doesn't satisfy. Disappointing--another of those books where I wonder if the "pro...more
I really liked how this book had the plot of the walk, and then always went back to the relationship between clara and ma. I think Ma and Clara have really confusing relationship. They are always there for each other, but sometimes really annoy and bother the other. Before the walk, I think that ma knew that Clara would come with her and her whole family wouldn't let her go with out another family member.
I think that the walk made their relationship a lot stronger, and now they appreciate the...more
I think that the walk made their relationship a lot stronger, and now they appreciate the...more
As a fair warning I am not a huge fan of young adult novels and I already knew this story because I read Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America a couple of years ago so it is tough for me to be totally objective. With that said I felt like this great story just wasn’t quite done justice by this slightly sappy version. I really wish there was a third book that fell somewhere in between the cold academic feel of Bold Spirit and this teen drama version. I was also pretty...more
To save the family farm, Clara Estby sets out with her mother on a walk from Washington state to New York. Are they foolish or brave to attempt such a thing? Probably both.
Based on a true story, the book is full of adventure but light on historical facts.
While I respect the author for wanting to write the tale of her ancestors' amazing stunt, by the time I got to the end I was disappointed to learn what was fact and what was fiction. I think I would prefer a historical account of their journey...more
Based on a true story, the book is full of adventure but light on historical facts.
While I respect the author for wanting to write the tale of her ancestors' amazing stunt, by the time I got to the end I was disappointed to learn what was fact and what was fiction. I think I would prefer a historical account of their journey...more
This is one of two novels based on the true story of Helga Estby and her daughter Clara, who walked from Washington to New York in 1896 in hopes of earning $10,000 with which they could save their farm. I couldn't put the book down, and also couldn't imagine walking all that way, through all kinds of weather and over all kinds of terrain. I have to admire their tenacity and determination. This novel, for young adults, was written by Helga's great-great granddaughter, so I think she had a special...more
What a cute, sweet book! And yet, it also has a lot of deeper themes and topics that would be perfect for a book club but it doesn't hit you over the head with them and if you prefer to just read it superficially for the story, it's still fun and enjoyable. (And the jacket doesn't photograph well - the book is a lot prettier in person than the images make it look.)
It's 1896. The country is in the midst of yet another depression (we had a lot of them in the 1800s). The Estbys are barely scraping...more
It's 1896. The country is in the midst of yet another depression (we had a lot of them in the 1800s). The Estbys are barely scraping...more
I absolutely loved this incredible journey. Inspired by true events, The Year We Were Famous is a story that is full of hope, courage, and never giving up. Following the journey of the mother-daughter team of Helga and Clara, who in hopes of saving their farm and making money from their story, walked from Mica Creek, WA clear across the country to New York City, New York.
During the story's era of 1896, these two courageous women were armed with very little as they set out on a trek that was eit...more
During the story's era of 1896, these two courageous women were armed with very little as they set out on a trek that was eit...more
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updated Aug 28, 2011 09:26pm