The basic outline of this story is clear from the very beginning. Molly Bannister is struggling financially in Arizona, when she suddenly finds out that her great-aunt has bequeathed to her an abandoned farmstead in Canada. Molly just has to live in the house for one year, at which time the title will be signed over to her and she can stay or sell as she sees fit. The value of the land exceeds a million dollars, and would set Molly and her young daughter up for a very, very long time. Of course, she'll fall in love with the house and the land and maybe a local, and she'll end up never leaving. That feels like a matter of course from the very first page.



The magic of this book is in the journey to that end. Elinor Florence's writing has a poetic, musical quality. Each page feels like a conversation between friends, and a stunning painting all at once.



Being granted an entire home and over a thousand acres of property can seem like a fairy tale, but Molly has to work hard for every square inch of that property. From the first moment, just leaving Arizona requires a great deal of effort. When Molly and Bridget arrive in Canada, they have another long trek to get to the house. Then they have to fight their way inside, and Molly has to battle years of dust and grime accumulation to have a place to prepare food and to rest.



Virtually every aspect of Molly and Bridget's life on the farmstead is foreign to them. They have to adapt to having no electricity, no plumbing, and a miniscule budget that allows for only one grocery shopping trip per month. So, clearly, not everything is rainbows and unicorns in their world. Yet the home they make is all the more beautiful and loved for the hard work it takes to accomplish each task.



Molly is joined on her journey by her great-aunt's journal, allowing both Molly and the reader to step back in time to the very beginning of the farm. That was one of my favorite parts of this book, as I am a big fan of understanding our history and appreciating all the work it took to get us where we are today. Take nothing for granted, and protect what you have.



I loved absolutely every moment of this book. My only complaint is that the ending felt so hurried. There were pages and pages of journey, and all of a sudden a drop-off that quickly tied up all the loose ends in a matter of a single chapter. It was almost heart-breaking, when I could have happily continued reading this story for another 100 pages.

Molly is living in Arizona with a special needs child when she is notified that a long distance relative has left Molly her house and property. Molly is in desperate need of money and change. She decides to go and see what it is all about. The will states that she must live in the house for a year and then she can do what she wants with it and she will get a small stipend to live. She starts learning about her family and herself. There are a few twists and some slow spots but all in all good book.

Very cute story, kept my interest and I would love to read more by this author.
Received this book as an ARC for my honest review.

I was unable to connect to this book though it was well written and had a great premise. I know several customers who would really like to read this book so we hope to purchase a copy regardless.

As a child I read all the stories I could get my hands on about pioneering. I wished that I had been born earlier so I could ride on the wagon trains heading out West. Time and maturity have since cured me of that desire. For example, I like having a dentists and doctors that use modern methods of treatment and pain relief.

This story took me back to those memories of what pioneering life would be like, and superimposed that experience in the modern day. Molly's life is unraveling. She has one chance to try to knit it back together. If she and her young daughter can survive for a year on her great-aunt's homestead in northern Alberta, then the homestead will be hers. Once it's in her possession she plans to sell it to get the funds to pay for her daughter Bridget's medical care.

The plot unfolds in alternating storylines from Molly's present-day experiences, and those of her aunt's told from the perspective of her journal entries. Both women find strength in doing things on their own, and grow to appreciate the gifts of nature, and the lessons that local First Nation women teach them. I loved seeing how the past informs the present. I rooted for Molly and Bridget to make it through the year, and loved how the women on both stories coped with the situations that they found themselves in.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Dundurn through NetGalley. Thank-you to them and the author for providing the book in exchange for an honest review.

Wildwood is one of those books that grabbed me as I began reading and pulled me in with the charm and natural feeling of the story. It’s a story about a young mother with a 4 year old daughter, obviously struggling with her life, who decides to uproot their Arizona existence for a never-seen farm in northern Canada. Why is the important factor. Well, apparently her great aunt, who carried the same name, has left her the property if she stays on the land, in the house for one year.

Of course nothing will be easy or there would be no story. And the telling is so well done. Molly and daughter Bridget fly to Juniper and find the house far from town that has been empty for 10 years and is lacking many necessities. What we see over time is work, growth, insight, struggle, and more growth. Molly discovers her great aunt’s diary from her first year on the land which serves as both inspiration and education. This year shows lives full of the gamut of human emotions and a wide range of experiences.

Florence has written a truly inspired book that pulled me in and held me. The descriptions of nature throughout the year are beautiful and powerful. Her exploration and knowledge of the homestead experience in Canada in the early 20th century is very apparent as is her knowledge of diaries of that period. Her care for northern Canada is obvious.

I definitely recommend this book and rate it 4 to 4.5*

A copy of this book was provided by Dundurn Press through NetGalley.

Wildwood , written by Elinor Florence, really pulled me in from the beginning. Published by Dundurn and released on 24th Feb, 2018 it's 328 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

I review a lot more books in the mystery/crime and fantasy/SF genres than general narrative fiction (I am not taken with the label 'womens' fiction), so I had some trepidation about this book. I engaged with single mother Molly right from the start. Her desperation and stress over her situation were palpable. Suddenly unemployed without a safety net and with a dependent special needs 4 year old, she's mostly out of options when she gets the chance to upend and reboot her life completely. She and Bridget (her daughter) were so sympathetic and so well written that I connected with the story right away and found myself rooting for them unreservedly.

The sense of place is palpable in this book. In some ways, the setting is the main character because Molly spends so much of her time and herculean efforts reacting to and dealing with the brutal climate. Much of the dramatic tension in the book comes from the danger provided by environment in remotest Northern Canada.

I liked that there was a gentle byplay in the parallel story lines provided by alternating Molly's present with her aunt's journal entries from the past. The book felt really well researched and realistic. I also enjoyed the subplot elements around Wynona and by extension, her First Nation community.

I really appreciated the fact that Molly's evolution as a person and the unintended anxiety relief on her daughter's mental health was presented without being sappy, strident or preachy. Molly's anxiety and stress and its effect on Bridget were never overtly addressed and that finesse was a really nice touch.

I also liked the fact that the romance element took a backseat to Molly's growth as a person. Some elements are foreshadowed heavily but they didn't detract or overshadow.

In more general comments, the language is very clean and there's nothing to offend. (There is one 'shite' in the book, but it's not gratuitous).
This would make a really great book club selection or classroom read for older students. In fact there are discussion questions included at the end of the book.

Lovely book, well written. It's a standalone.

Four and a half stars.

As someone fascinated by pioneers, homesteading and the harsh beauty of American and Canadian wildernesses, this book was bound to please, and it did! Beautifully written, in past and present, it was enlightening as well as entertaining.

A must-read magnificent novel inspired by her own life and ancestry in Canada

I did not want this book to come to an end as it is so incredibly beautifully written. Her passionate inspiration to write the book oozes through each page abundantly full of history, hardship, sadness, joy, relationships and courage.

From the modern day urban United States to Canada’s northernmost agricultural area and the last area to be settled by homesteaders, Elinor Florence takes her readers through history from 1924 using a journal inspired by her research on pioneer memoirs. Her heroine, Molly, inherits a homestead from an aunt she never knew and the condition for the inheritance is that Molly lives for one year like her aunt did, without plumbing or electricity. This came at a very opportune time for Molly and her daughter Bridget who had communication issues. They arrive in the remote wilderness with no experience whatsoever of surviving in this harsh remote environment.

Elinor inspiringly weaves the courage Molly needs to overcome obstacles every day with the journal she finds of how her aunt survived as a courageous Irish descent homesteader. Molly meets fascinating characters and interesting relationships are forged including with indigenous people. This aspect makes the book feel autobiographical.

Elinor’s passion for the strong women who helped develop her beloved country comes through clearly. Molly and her daughter also prove to be strong and courageous.

Go to Elinor Florence to find out more about this fascinating author, particularly if you love the history of Canada.

BonnieK

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Molly is a single mum scratching to make ends meet when a relative dies leaving her a small property subject to certain conditions and a regular income. Her daughter Bridget suffers from selective mutism and treatment costs money Molly does not have. Accepting the offer is the only way she can afford the medical treatment her little girl needs.
The farmhouse has the bare essentials for daily life while at times the wilderness is harsh and unforgiving. As she teaches herself new skills she also has to contend with the farmer, she suspects of wanting her to fail. Reading her relative’s diary provides the motivation to stay.
This is the sort of story, which feels real. The characters are well developed, believable and appealing. I loved the very interesting historical background the author included.
I was curious to learn what The Accident related to as well as the missing pieces of Molly’s background eg blood phobia. This great read was finished in one and a half sittings and every minute was a pleasure.
Very well done and I highly recommend this modern times meets frontier style living struggle. Do not assume this will be just another love story, it isnt!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of the book and the opportunity to provide an honest review.

I loved Elinor Florence’s Bird’s Eye View, so I was excited to see that she had a new book out: Wildwood. Wildwood tells the story of Molly Bannister, who leaves Arizona with her young daughter to go to northernmost Canada as she has inherited a farm from her great aunt. The conditions are: live on the farm for one year (no plumbing, no electricity) and then you can sell it. Molly needs money and the farm is prime land for oil fracking. She moves north (where it’s way colder than she’s ever experienced!) and slowly pioneers her way through the year, with four-year-old Bridget by her side. Finding her great aunt’s diary from her first year at Wildwood in the 20’s is an added bonus. Along the way, Molly begins to find that connecting with the land may be the best thing that has ever happened to her and her daughter.

I just loved this story – especially since I’m a big fan of a pioneer story and this one essentially had two in it: Molly’s and her great aunt’s. I loved how Molly was tough and self-sufficient, but also overwhelmed by the demands of living off the grid. Molly’s little girl, Bridget, is selective mute, something that is near and dear to me if you know me personally, and I loved the character of little Bridget. It was interesting to read about Canadian winter (I thought we had it bad in New England!) and the indigenous people of Canada as well.

Thank you so much for my review e-copy! I truly enjoyed it!!

I read this book in 3 days, partly because it's a fairly easy read, and also because it kept me interested and captivated, like Elinor Florence's first novel A Bird's Eye View. Wildwood is the story of a single mother from Phoenix Arizona who inherits a homestead acreage in Northern Alberta. The catch is that she must live in the old house (no power, running water) for one year before she actually gets her name on the title. There are the predictable challenges that present themselves (operating and cooking on a wood stove, surviving a harsh winter, confronting wildlife etc) but since the author had definitely done her research, I found myself learning a lot about life in farm country, then and now. Elinor Florence writes with feeling and detailed descriptions. I particularly remember the account of Molly's and Bridget's confrontation with a mother grizzly bear. I felt like I was right there! I also loved the journal entries from Molly's great-aunt, that mirrored a lot of the circumstances that Molly was experiencing. Although the story line was predictable, this was a very interesting story read and I recommend it to all readers who love historical and modern fiction.

Wildwood, Elinor Florence's second novel, tells the tale of Molly Bannister, a single mother in a serious bind after losing her job. Molly is unexpectedly the recipient of a bequest of her Great Aunt Mary Margaret's farm in a remote area of Alberta, near the town of Juniper. The only catch is that in order to have the land titled in her name, she must live on the property for a full calendar year. With her young daughter Briget tow, Molly pulls up stakes in Arizona and moves to Wildwood. The story of her year is intertwined with the journal of her Great Aunt, Mary Margaret Bannister Lee, recounting her first year of married life living with her husband George Albert Lee. Mary Margaret, born in County Cork, Ireland, had been visiting with friends when she met George at a dance in Juniper and they married. The hard life of homesteading in northern Alberta in the 1920's is recounted and heartens Molly's stay through a number of harrowing events. She and Bridget survive the harsh winter as they struggle with food security, survive being stranded in a snowstorm, and even a terrifying encounter with a grizzly and her cub.

Florence, who hails from Saskatchewan, has a clear love of the remote Canadian wilderness and that shines through. Her character depictions, while perhaps not as polished as those in Kristin Hannah's recently released The Great Alone, a book to which American reviewers are likely to compare Wildwood, they are engaging. The story itself, including a subplot with a romance, was a bit predictable, I still enjoyed the book because of the interplay between Mary Margaret's life and her namesake Molly's. I was initially taken aback by Florence's depiction of a somewhat illiterate Cree youth who lives near Wildwood, but in the end, the character is drawn as so smart in all the ways Molly isn't. An interesting read!

Wildwood by Elinore Florence

Molly is down on her luck with time running out when a fortuitous inheritance finds its way to her. The only glitch is that she has to live on the land for a year. Where is the land? Way up north in Canada where it gets very very cold indeed! Living in a home built in the early 1920’s might not sound horrible BUT the house has not been lived in for decades, has no indoor plumbing, is without electricity and relies on wood for heating and cooking. Molly has four year old daughter with issues but still…she believes that living in the house is her only recourse so…off she goes.

This is a story of hardship in the present interwoven with the diary entries of Molly’s great aunt who actually moved to the land and settled it with her husband nearly 100 years before. The difficulties both faced were often similar and Molly took courage from what she read in her aunt’s journal.

I have always liked stories of the past, what it was like to live in such times and how people managed. I once asked my mother what it must be like to be a pioneer and she told me that living in a country with unreliable electricity, water supply and such put me on par with people living in the past…at least part of the time.

The story is well told and done in a way that the reader almost feels they are there. The issues faced were real and made me wonder “what if” – I enjoyed the story and was thankful that all worked out for Molly and her daughter in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

Interesting tale of a single mom and her daughter, who has selective mutism, who must make it through a year in an abandoned farmhouse in Alberta, Canada in order to inherit the house and land, which is worth a lot of dough. In many ways this is completely ridiculous. Molly focuses on cleaning the house even as others ask her if she's prepared for winter. $400 goes a lot farther in Canada, it appears, than it does in the US. I was struck, especially, with the fact that she allowed her her daughter Bridget to pull an apple off a tree but there's no mention of gathering the apples to put in the root cellar (although later in the boo, they eat apples so presumably they collected them.). The little romance with Colin was unnecessary. Wynona, the First Nations kid who lives like 8 miles away and stops by for dinner is delightful. Despite my criticism, I read every word. It's a fast paced book where you wait for danger around every corner (Bridget's fall in the bedroom leads to a dramatic scene.). Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

I enjoyed the unfamiliar world that Molly and Bridget walked into. Molly assumed that she had walked into prosperity while Bridget knew that she had tottered into agony when the two of them arrived in Alberta, their new home for the next 365 days. The isolated farmhouse cast off a terrifying chill as they took in their surroundings. It would be tough to live without some of life’s modern conveniences but in the end, the title to this valuable piece of property was worth a fortune and Bridget’s doctors cost about that much.

Molly was a city girl and moving into the country with her four-year-old daughter was a chance that she was willing to take. Molly needed money for Bridget’s doctors. Molly believed that taking this year off to live in this remote countryside was the best option for the both of them. Molly knew nothing about country living nor did she know about her great aunt and uncle who left her this property. Molly knew she needed the money and she knew they only needed to stay one year, that really wasn’t a long time, was it?

The townfolk were welcoming and they reach out to the new family. As Molly navigates her new life, she finds one of her great aunt’s diaries in the house. I liked these journal entries just as much as Molly did. I felt that they helped her not feel so isolated in the struggles that she has having living on the estate. The similarities of these two women were striking although the time periods were many years apart.

Bridget is a shy child when they set foot onto the estate but as time moves on, she changes. There were times I wondered if Molly notices what was happening with her daughter as they get caught up in everyday life. It’s hard for these two as they go from a clean, tidy lifestyle to a lifestyle where dust and dirt are a part of life.

Molly is constantly counting down the days till she can go back to Arizona and get Bridget back into treatment. Each day is a new set of challenging yet as I read, I saw something growing between Molly and her daughter. The struggles and the victories aren’t forgotten but they become their own journal and now there are other individuals joining in.

This was a fantastic novel with an entertaining, engaging story that I truly enjoyed. It was one of those novels where I became vested in the lives of the characters and I truly cared how things played out. 4.5 stars

I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley and Dundurn in exchange for an honest review.

If you are looking for a whizz bang, thrill a minute story then WILDWOOD is not going to be for you. However, if you are looking for a story that draws you in from the very first page and gradually immerses you in a struggle for survival – then Bingo! You’ve found your book.

The main character is single mum Molly Bannister and she is at the end of her tether, as she has lost her job and unable to pay her rent so facing eviction. Out of the blue she gets a letter from a lawyer informing her she has inherited her great-aunt’s abandoned, off-the-grid farmhouse in the remote backwoods of northern Alberta. The farmhouse was abandoned when her great-aunt voluntarily admitted herself to a nursing home when she came down with Alzheimer’s – neighbours have been keeping an eye on it for years and it is exactly as she left it – fully furnished and sound. In order to fully take ownership of it Molly must live there for a year. Molly accepts the challenge with the plan of selling the house and land and move back to the USA once the year was over. Her daughter, Bridget, suffers from select mutism so she wants the money to pay for her daughter’s treatment.
What a contrast for this city dweller – Canadians drive on the ‘wrong’ side of the road and the cabin has no running water, no electricity and an outdoors drop toilet. With just $400 a month to live on, along with a 2 hour drive to Jupiter to get the money and supplies, Molly finds that cooking, cleaning, heating the house, washing their clothes and keeping clean in the back of beyond to be a huge challenge.

Fortunately she is not totally alone, out in the wilds neighbours look out for each other rather than ignore each other and she soon gets to make friends – and her great-aunt has left books behind. Including her diary about her first year homesteading in the cabin. Reading how her ancestor coped in the past – helped Molly survive in the present. There are other connections – including the fact her great-aunt had a close friend, Annie, who was a medicine woman from the local Cree community and now Annie’s granddaughter, Winona, is friends with Molly. This is a wonderful thread within the story.

The descriptions of the settings – the house, the land, the cold, the wild forests and animals are astounding and certainly gave me a sense of place. The characters just came alive on the pages and there is so much growth in the characters of Molly, Bridget and Winona. The author, Elinor Florence, also managed to subtly introduce some of the issues facing the farmers out there – not just the bitter winters, short growing season and isolation; but fraud, mining exploration and fracking.

Molly Bannister's life is unraveling. She has lost her job with an accounting firm in AZ, and her savings is dwindling fast. As a single parent, she is almost in panic mode when she receives word from a lawyer that her great-aunt left her a farm and house in northern Alberta, Canada. The will stipulates that she has to live on the old homestead for a full year before gaining ownership. With money dwindling and no other options, Molly and her 4-year old daughter Bridget move to Canada. The old farmhouse has been watched over by neighbors since her great-aunt went into a nursing home. Other than a lot of dust and cobwebs, it's not in bad shape. But there is no electricity, no indoor plumbing, no internet, no phone, and the closest neighbor is 8 miles away. 365 days -- can they brave an entire year on the old homestead? Molly finds her great-aunt's journal and reads a little bit about her early married life each night before going to bed. She finds strength and wisdom in the pages, and learns a lot about herself as well.

I absolutely loved this book! At first Molly comes to Wildwood out of desperation. She has nowhere else to go. She counts the days until she can sell the farm and return to the United States with plenty of money to live life on her own terms. But, living out at the old homestead without any of the modern conveniences, reading her great-aunt's journal, and learning to survive has such a profound effect on her life and her daughter. She scrubs the house clean, learns to cook, wash laundry by hand and make do with what they have. Along the way, she discovers that she is a stronger person than she ever realized.

Once I started reading, I couldn't put this book down! I loved how Molly grew stronger and defeated the demons from her past as the story unfolded. As her mother became a stronger person, Bridget's life and behavior also improved. I enjoyed this story so much that I definitely want to read Elinor Florence's other novel, Bird's Eye View.

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from Dundurn via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Every once in a while I read a book where the sense of place is so strong, so much a part of the story that you see it and feel it on every page. Elinor Florence has done a fabulous job of taking the reader to this remote place in Northern Canada. It’s cold and the landscape is utterly beautiful and the environment equally brutal at times. We see it through the eyes of Molly Bannister, a single mother who has lost her job and is struggling to insure that her 4 year old daughter Bridget who has selective mutism, gets the medical care she needs. In order to do that Molly must move from Arizona to Northern Canada and live for one year a primitive house without plumbing or electricity in order to get her inheritance of the house and farm land. Financially desperate, Molly accepts the offer in her great aunt’s will, planning to live out the year and sell the property. We also see it from a past perspective through the journals that her great aunt Molly leaves, getting a view of the hardships and joy of homesteading.

The chapters alternate between Molly in the present of 2011 and her ancestor Molly Bannister Lee in 1924. This is one of those novels where the past and the present stories are connected in meaningful ways. The journals not only give Molly an understanding of the place and some actual advice, but guidance, inspiration and strength to manage her circumstances. There is another lovely connection between past and present through the character of Winona, a young Cree girl who Molly befriends and Winona’s great grandmother Annie Bearspaw, a healer, a medicine woman, a good friend of Molly Bannister Lee. This is a story about roots and family, about journeys not just to an unknown place but to that inner place where one discovers who they are.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Dundurn through NetGalley.

Thank you Netgalley and Dundurn Press for the eARC.
What a wonderful book this is! It made my eyes well up at times, hold my breath, panic at the extreme cold and love the whole experience.
Having lived there for 20 years, I have a special place in my heart for Canada and having moved from Manhatttan to Upstate NY into a ramshackle farmhouse, I was reminded of the 10 long years it took us to fix the place up.
Molly and 4-year old Bridget move from Arizona to Northern Alberta in Canada. Molly inherited a farmhouse and large acreage from her great-aunt and since she is in dire straits, not even capable of paying her rent, she decides to move. She has to stay at least a year before she can claim the inheritance and decides to stay the year and then sell.
At first horrified (no running water, no electricity, forget about TV, internet or phone) at the state of the place, they slowly start loving the life. Even Bridget, who suffers from select mutism, with the help of a kitten, puppy and Wynona the Indigenous girl, becomes stronger and more confident.
With the help of her great-aunt's diaries, Molly manages to slowly learn to be self-sufficient: making butter, baking bread and cakes, keeping the house warm (no small feat when it's -40 outside!) and generally learn the homesteader's way of life.
Their new life, as hard as it is at times, gives them so much in the way of inner happiness and satisfaction, it lifts your heart to go on this journey with them. Highly recommended!

Most Americans are familiar with the Little House in the Prairie books, which was an idealized version of Laura Engles Wilder's life. Most Canadians, I would hope, are familiar with <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1573148448">Susanna Moodie</a> and her books such as Roughing it in the Bush, where she tells what life is really like as a pioneer.

This book is more like Susanna, then Laura, but they both share the love of the beauty of the wilderness. You get to look at this quiet, isolated farmland and all its beauty, through a year of basically roughing it in the 21st Century.

I really enjoyed reading this, and seeing the world through Molly's eyes. There was a few things that got to me, such as phrases she might not have known, that were very Canadian, since she was from Arizona, but they were far and few between.

The language is lovely. This is a description of the Northern Lights:
<blockquote>...the northern lights fell like fine sheets of applegreen rain, tinged with pink and mauve, shimmering curtains of silk shaken by giants hands. We could even hear them hissing and humming. The Indians believe that they are the spirits of all the people who have passed away,
dancing in the heavens.</blockquote>

Molly sometimes seemed very naive, as well, and she frustrated me at times. I grew up in a warm climate too, but I know that ice is slippery.

And although the author writes very well about the Cree, there is one fact that bothers me, when she says that they get free college tution. According to the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/debunking-the-myth-that-all-first-nations-people-receive-free-post-secondary-education-1.3414183" target="_blank">CBC news, it is not true,</a> or it is not as easy as that. They do get money from the government, but often not enough to pay for all students who want to apply, because the funding is capped. Otherwise, she writes very lovingly, espcially about the problems of the aftermath of the Residency Schools system.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.