I thought scene of the birth of Minnie's twins was well written, so graphic! It made me forever grateful that I have given birth at the turn of this century and not the last.

I was really pleased about the hopeful ending as well. I thought Mattie probably would end up going to New York but for a while in the middle of the book you thought perhaps she would stay, marry Royal Loomis and have the same life that her mother had. It was great that Grace's death wasn't completely in vain as it freed Mattie of her domestic burdens and allowed her to see that she should step out into the world as an individual and take up her place at college. It was people like Mattie that paved the way for the rights that us women have now. It makes me look at my own life and wonder if that was me 100 years ago, would I have had enough courage in my own convictions to leave behind everything I've ever known to go to college and have a freer life?

I also liked the character of Emily Baxter / Wilcox. She really allowed Mattie an insight into a different world, but she also shows what women were up against. How her poetry was considered immoral and the fact that her estranged husband wanted her institutionalized. It's hard to imagine a world where you don't have the same freedom of speech that we do now.

I found the book really easy to read and kept wanting to go back to it every time I put it down.  That's why it took me less than a day to read.  After reading the blurb on the back I thought it would be more about the murder, the reason I chose to read it, and initially I wished it would go back to that.  Once I got more into the story of Matt before she started at the Glenmore and her family the less the murder part mattered to me.  I think the book showed how hard it was for women to break away from the traditional family life at that time and indeed how hard that life was.  Apart from her father who was tied to the farm it was relatively easy for the other male members of her family(brother and uncle) to go off and do their own thing.  Whereas she was stuck at home looking after the younger kids and was exactly in the same role her mother had been in.  The ending could have gone either way and it ended as I hoped.  Although it seemed a bit far fetched that she was able to earn enough in one summer to pay off the back taxes etc. and still have enough for her own travel costs.

The murder of Grace was totally pointless really, I think Emily had more of an influence on Mattie realising that she could have a better life.  If you're going to write a book about a real life murder you should at least stick to the facts of the case!  How on earth would Grace have the letters she sent?  Surely the boyfriend would have them?

I enjoyed the other storyline more, the growing up and maturing of Mattie, although it reminded me far too much of Anne of Green Gables, she'd even stolen scenes from it like the cows escaping.  Although as a storyline it was far too predictable - I always knew that she'd end up going to New York because no woman writer nowadays would ever write a story about a girl giving up her dreams for drudgery and marriage.

Sorry if that's harsh and offends anyone!