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There are currently 23 member reviews
for Follow the Stars Home
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Mary L. (Greeley, CO)
Intrepid, Indeed
This historical novel introduces the reader to Lydia and Nicholas Roosevelt on their daring trip in 1811 to prove a steamboat could navigate the Ohio and, especially, the Mississippi River. Focused on Lydia's viewpoint the reader is taken on the perilous trip with many challenges, including Lydia being 8 months pregnant with their second child, giving birth, and also mothering their preschool daughter during the trip. Lydia's courage and her deep love and partnership with Nicholas enrich the historical aspects of the novel. I got a little bogged down in some of the details, though overall it is a book well worth reading.
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Janet T. (Westford, MA)
Follow the Stars Home
This book was a unique experience for me presenting a time period and events in history which I had littlle to no knowledge of. I enjoyed the book, altho I found there was some repetition of information which wasn't required, but was already gatherer when it was mentioned the first time in the book. I found the main women character to be a little bit unbelievable given that time in history. Her priorities made her a bit annoying to me and some of her behavior was foolhardy. Those comments aside, it was a good read, and factually diligent. I. would recommend it to my bookclub.
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Maryanne H. (Delmar, NY)
High Adventure on the Water
Diane C. McPhail plucks from history an audacious young woman, and using the available historical record, brings her to life in the novel FOLLOW THE STARS HOME. Lydia Roosevelt, née Latrobe, daughter of prominent DC architect Benjamin Latrobe, wife of inventor Nicholas Roosevelt, narrates her life-defining adventure story, accompanying her husband, along with their toddler and newborn, on the first steam-powered paddle boat trip from Pittsburgh to New Orleans.
Will they make it, unscathed? Will a successful trip revolutionize travel and trade in the young nation, eager to grow? Will their collaboration, Lydia's ingenious practicality and intimate involvement at every turn, and Nicholas' determination and engineering genius, change history? Even though we know the answers, the author maintains a high level of suspense. ??
Given the enormity of the challenges they face, everything from childbirth to navigating through the famous New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12, readers can expect to learn a lot and experience vicariously, along with historical figures, moments of grace under pressure. That's the beauty of historical fiction, especially ones that are based on real people whose stories might otherwise be lost. ??
In choosing to use first person narration, the author made another style choice, to adapt a style of writing that we might find in letters from that time period. While this helped Lydia come across as an early 19th Century character more realistically, it also at times felt overly sentimental and repetitive. She revisits the tension between her father and husband multiple times, almost to the point where I wondered if readers were being asked to distance themselves from Lydia. ??
Overall, the writing is excellent, and Lydia's philosophical musings, her metaphorical likening of the river to the passage of time, and especially the high level of excitement so deftly conveyed made this book enjoyable to read. Much to discuss for book clubs.
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Barbara B. (Harlingen, TX)
Follow The Stars Home
This was a delightful read. The author, though, has me confused. In her preface she states that the story is a work of fiction, all names, places and events products of her imagination. Reading the bibliography of her research she has given the characters names of real people. I do hope this to be based on a true story.
It is 1811, steamboats are untested. Nicholas Roosevelt and his wife, Lydia Latrobe Roosevelt, have designed and built a steamboat fitted to carry passengers and cargo. This boat is the first to attempt sailing the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, Pittsburgh to New Orleans.
Lydia relates how her family's journey met the challenges of fire, Indians, earthquake and "doubters" to change water travel forever.
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Linda H. (Manitowoc, WI)
An unforgettable journey
This historical novel describes the first steamship on its first voyage on the Mississippi River. But that's not all. It's also the story of the very brave people who not only were leading the voyage, but they took a toddler and the owner's 8 month pregnant wife who planned to deliver the second child on the journey While the boat wasn't huge, it was definitely larger than the flatboats that they took on their investigating trip to see what the obstacles would be for a larger boat. The detailed description of the trip was definitely a page-turner!
It is also a book about the relationship between Nicholas Roosevelt, the builder and owner, and Lydia, his wife, some 30 years younger. She seemed to be full partner in the venture. She had her share of critics, some of whom came to the launching of the steamer. An interesting read for feminists as well as historical fiction fans.
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Deborah C. (Highland Park, NJ)
Memory, Like a River
Thank you to Book Browse for an advance reader's copy.
This engaging novel-as-memoir is told in the voice of Lydia Latrobe Roosevelt (1791-1876) and recounts the real 1811 maiden voyage of the first steamship to travel the Mississippi River. The success of that adventure made trade possible both up and down the Mississippi, and helped open the West for America's expansion.
Happily married to the much older Nicholas Roosevelt (much is made of this) who designed the steam engine and paddles, Lydia's recounting covers the almost three-month trip, marked by dangers on land and water, the experience heightened by concern for their young children, a toddler and newborn, who accompanied them.
As they wait for the water to rise and their travel to begin, Lydia returns repeatedly to her early childhood, marked by the loss of her mother in childbirth, abandonment by her grief-stricken father, and the traumatic journey finally made by sea to reunite with him. The river acts both as a reminder of that trauma, and as a metaphor for her meandering ruminations, anxieties, and hopes.
Then the voyage begins, and the descriptions – and emotions – become vivid and exciting. Going through the dangerous Falls of the Ohio, experiencing the devastating New Madrid, Missouri, earthquake, and navigating the river where landmarks have been drastically changed by the earthquake - all are based in factual research, and add up to a dramatic and largely satisfying reading experience, re-introducing this intrepid woman to a modern audience.
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Carol R. (North Mankato, MN)
Little known historical fiction
FOLLOW THE STARS HOME is the fictional rendition of real events in 1811-1812. Lydia and Ben Roosevelt embark on an historical journey in the first steamboat to travel the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers from Pittsburgh to New Orleans. Lydia is a woman before her time, beginning this journey with her husband and young daughter and 8 months pregnant. The journey is riddled with dangers and potential catastrophes that could end the journey and their lives. I enjoyed the description of the steamboat and how it worked, the scenery, and potential dangers related to finding food, fuel, navigating dangerous or low waters. The politics and family issues were brought into the story much too often. I found the description of the earthquake a bit overdone. It almost seemed unbelievable and maybe it it would be if I were on a steamboat and had no idea what was happening. I suppose it would feel surreal. I knew nothing about this New Madrid Earthquake and found that very interesting. I especially enjoyed the historical aspects of this book.
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