Ellen's Story

Ellen Tandy lives on a farm with her father and two brothers, ages 16 and 7, and has recently lost her mother. One day, Ellen's father returns from one of his long trips- but he is not alone. He had married a woman named Julia, and brought her son Silas. Ellen doesn't care much for Silas because he is always getting her and her brothers into trouble. Then one day, a play time accident goes horribly wrong. Only then does Ellen realize what Julia and Silas meant to her, and must try to make things right while going on a whirl-wind adventure to teach us all the meaning of family.

Since her mother died, the weight of most of the household chores have fallen on young Ellen Tandy. Her father often goes away for long periods of time, leaving Ellen and her two brothers, one older and one younger, to keep the family farm running. Life on the Illinois prairie in 1830 is difficult, but Ellen and her brothers manage to find joy in simple pleasures. Yet one day, everything changes without warning. Ellen's father returns home with a woman named Julia whom he has just married, and Julia's disagreeable son Silas. At first Ellen keeps herself at a distance from Julia, still grieving for her mother, and resents Silas because he is a troublemaker. Yet when the conflicts among the new family tensify and threaten to tear them apart, Ellen realizes how much Julia and Silas have come to mean to her. But is to late to help bring her family back together? This historical novel, reminiscent at times of the Little House books, brought to life the events that took place on the Illinois prairie in 1830-1831, including one of the worst winters on record, a terrible spring flooding, and a prairie fire, while telling a heartwarming family story featuring a spunky young girl who is fiercely loyal to her family. I can't wait to read the upcoming books in this series.