Adeline's Dream

Deborah Dowson is a Canadian children’s librarian living in Harvard,
Massachusetts.

After making the long journey from Germany to Saskatchewan in June 1910,
Adeline “Linna” Mueller is horrified to find that her home will be a
dirt “soddie” in a squatter’s settlement, rather than a proper
house in town as she had imagined. She makes friends with Kat, who also
lives in the settlement; Kat teaches Linna about life on the prairie and
helps her to practise speaking English. With help from a boy in town
Linna also begins to learn to read English books. Life is very
difficult, but it gets worse when the mill where Linna’s father works
burns down and her friend Kat has to move away. However, despite all of
the obstacles, Linna’s dream of living in a “real” house comes
true, as does her hope of performing as a singer.

This is a wonderfully written story that keeps true to the history of
the town of Qu’Appelle by using actual events for many of the major
plot points. The history comes alive through Linna’s experiences and
the author’s excellent description of the details of daily life.
Readers will feel for Linna’s struggle to fit in and adjust to her
life as it moves from disappointment and discouragement to optimism and
opportunity. Highly recommended.