The Last Letter

By Kathleen Shoop

The Last Letter - Kathleen Shoop
  • Release Date: 2011-04-28
  • Genre: Historical Fiction
Score: 4
4
From 297 Ratings

Description

Katherine wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t found the letter...

Katherine Arthur's mother arrives on her doorstep, dying, forcing her to relive a past she wanted to forget. When Katherine was young, the Arthur family had been affluent city dwellers until shame sent them running for the prairie, into the unknown. Taking her family, including young Katherine, to live off the land was the last thing Jeanie Arthur had wanted, but she would do her best to make a go of it. For Jeanie's husband Frank it had been a world of opportunity. Dreaming, lazy Frank. But, it was a society of uncertainty—a domain of natural disasters, temptation, hatred, even death.
Ten-year-old Katherine had loved her mother fiercely, put her trust in her completely, but when there was no other choice, and Jeanie resorted to extreme measures on the prairie to save her family, she tore Katherine’s world apart. Now, seventeen years later, and far from the homestead, Katherine has found the truth – she has discovered the last letter. After years of anger, can Katherine find it in her heart to understand why her mother made the decisions that changed them all? Can she forgive and finally begin to heal before it’s too late?

Reviews

  • The Last Letter

    5
    By Ralphnun1
    Wow what a beautiful story and so very well told. Excellent!!!!
  • The Last Letter

    5
    By Abbyroad18
    What an incredible book. I’m a voracious reader but it has been years and years since I have read such a well written story and one that offers a different type of story that savaged my emotions. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys exceptional writing, such well developed characters and one that can speak to one’s secret internal hurts and secret selves. We all deserve forgiveness - from ourselves.
  • The Last Letter

    5
    By licorich
    Mesmerizing. Thank you for a heartfelt story so well written that I often felt I was there.
  • Good read

    5
    By Llamagama
    This book is very different than the normal detective/murder books I usually read and in a good way. I enjoyed learning about what life was like in those times which are so different than now. In many ways though, things are the same. Moms are very protective of their children and love them more than their children will ever know. The story grabbed me from the beginning and had me staying up way too late to find out "what happened". Read it and found out.
  • The Last Letter

    4
    By nemouse
    A fascinating read that captivated me to the very end...how I wanted a happy ending for Jeanie.
  • The last letter

    5
    By is-reader
    AmazIng. The detailed depth of sorrow and frustration felt by homesteading women make this a must read for all.
  • The Last Letter

    4
    By dyjcmac
    Well written, humor and tragedy woven together beautifully. Ugly-ness and beauty. It runs us through a gamut of emotions. Life was hard on the prairie as depicted here, not only because of the elements but because of life. There is a surprise in the story I never saw coming. Enjoyed this.