In 1918, 16 year old orphan Hattie inherits 320 acres of land in Montana--if she can "prove up" (improve and make liveable) her land within 10 months then it's hers to keep. Alone except for some friendly neighbors (but out on the prairie a "close neighbor" can be miles away!) Hattie works hard to fence the land, plant 40 acres of it, and overcome all sorts of hardships from the weather to runaway horse stampedes to the Spanish flu outbreak. "Little House on the Prairie" this isn't, but Hattie's a great character--gutsy, strong, determined, having no clue about how to do a lot of this homesteading stuff but willing to learn from her mistakes. While she's there she's also writing letters home to her uncle back in Iowa and to her friend Charlie who's fighting World War I in France. I found this really interesting and a good look at how tough life was back then, and a good story of a girl growing up and becoming independent.