The Year We Were Famous

by Carole Estby Dagg

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Young Adult Fiction. HTML: 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 York City�??and if they can do it in only seven months, a publisher has agreed to give them $10,000. Based on the true story of the author's great-aunt and great-grandmother, this is a fast-paced historical adventure that sets the drama of Around the World in Eighty Days against an American backdrop during the time of the suffragist movement, the 1896 presidential campaign, and the changing perception of "a woman's place" in society… (more)

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Showing 1-5 of 8 (next | show all)

I really enjoyed this book--a lot. Based on a true story in the author's family history, this is an engaging romp across the country as a mother-daughter duo set out to walk thousands of miles on a quest to save the family farm. Their adventures are both serious and funny, and the author does a fabulous job of making you feel like you're right there in the story and time period. This is for young readers but I think grown-ups will enjoy it just as much. I'm glad the author persisted with her goal to bring this story to publication. (

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jjpseattle | Aug 2, 2020 |

I'm not sure I understand why other reviewers are talking about this as if it's to be read in school or as if it's a YA book. Sure, some teens would like it, but as I was reading I never guessed that it might have been marketed to them. I'd shelve it in the adult section no hesitation.

Anyway, I enjoyed it. I definitely learned a little history, and a little about family dynamics, and a little about the (never named but always relevant) manic-depressive mental health challenge. It's a quick & charming, not to mention inspirational, read. (

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Cheryl_in_CC_NV | Jun 6, 2016 |

With its homespun cover, I expected this book to be something like Little House on the Prairie, but this tale of a nineteenth-century cross-country trek has a decidedly modern feel. There is plenty of fodder for discussion about the roles and expectations of adults and children, mental illness, sexual education, politics and race relations. (

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memccauley6 | May 3, 2016 |

I found this whole journey fascinating, as well as the mother and daughter characters themselves. It's based on a true story, and has some of the feel of a Laura Ingalls Wilder book. The great tragedy is that the original journals didn't survive. (

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Connie-D | Jan 17, 2016 |

Very interesting book -- a fictionalized account of a real feat by the author's ancestor. The descriptions of the main characters' experiences as they walk across the United States are authentic and colorful. Interesting and a quick historical read. (

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dd196406 | Dec 23, 2012 |

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WILLA Literary Award (Winner – Children’s/Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction – 2012)

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Rise: A Feminist Book Project for Ages 0-18 (Selection – 2012)

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Helga Estby

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Young Adult Fiction. HTML:

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 York City�??and if they can do it in only seven months, a publisher has agreed to give them $10,000. Based on the true story of the author's great-aunt and great-grandmother, this is a fast-paced historical adventure that sets the drama of Around the World in Eighty Days against an American backdrop during the time of the suffragist movement, the 1896 presidential campaign, and the changing perception of "a woman's place" in society

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