If you have not read this author before , you are in for a real treat.
Great writing, believable characters and a mystery to keep you hooked. A wonderful sense of a place (the mid west of America). Cannot recommend more highly.

I really wanted to like this book but I felt like nothing was really happening and I felt very bored therefore I was unable to finish this book.

My book club read this and it was good. A little long winded for me but reminiscent of Huck Finn to me. I learned a lot about American Indians, Indian schools run by white people and all of the horrible things white people did to brown people since the beginning of time seemingly. Go read this.

In 1932, four orphans take to the Mississippi River to flee the horrible conditions they have been living in. Odie and Albert are brothers. Odie is high-spirited and spend a lot of time in the solitary room, a shed with no comforts and usually a beating beforehand. Albert fares a bit better as he is a mechanical whiz. Mose is their best friend, a huge boy of Indian descent who was found in a ditch when he was four with his dead mother, his tongue cut out. Emmy is recently orphaned, her mother dead in a tornado. All are fleeing from the Lincoln Indian Training School where a cruel couple is in charge and the children there are treated as nothing more than money machines.

The four decide to run away and take Emmy's father's canoe down the river to Saint Louis. Odie and Albert's aunt lives there and they hope she might be able to take them in. Along the way, they encounter lots of people they will always remember, both good and bad. They are fugitives, both from the school and from the death of one of their tormentors that Odie might be responsible for. They meet a man living alone with his demons, an Indian who teaches Mose about his heritage, families living in a Hooverville and members of a revival show. They learn from each individual they meet and when they make it to Saint Louis, they learn the truth about their family background.

Krueger is best known for his mystery series featuring Cork O'Connor, an Indian/Irish sheriff. This work is a stand alone novel set in his favorite state, Minnesota, and details the lives and relationships of these four children who have formed a family that transcends blood. Readers will fall in love with Odie who narrates the story and cheer for the children to find a life that is normal and loving. This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

This was a great story that will definitely take you on one heck of an emotional rollercoaster. It has plenty of suspense and action, but I did feel it was far too long. There were so many unnecessary scenes that I often found myself skipping over. So honestly I did not see that this story lived up to all the hype.

I'm sorry but this was just boring. If I hadn't gotten the audiobook from Libby and mostly listened vs reading the e-book, I probably would have DNF'd it. Apparently it's a companion to Ordinary Grace. A prequel. Definitely not in any rush to read that now that I've read this. It was dull, folx!"

Meeting WKK was a highlight of my life. This was my first book from him and it was so beautifully written that jt won’t be my last

I love epic novels where you really get to go on an adventure with the characters. Odie is a 12-year-old orphan who is living with his brother in a Native American Training School in the 1930s. They're the only whites there but still get horribly mistreated. After one fateful night that involves a crime, the two boys must flee the school and go on a journey to find a new home.

There were so many twists and turns in the story, and there were many times I felt like my heart couldn't take all of the weariness and misfortunes that befell these children! However, Krueger is a really skilled writer and I thought he did a fantastic job thinking up new trials and tribulations that were actually pretty realistic for the time period. I also felt like Krueger nailed his narrator's voice perfectly. There were so many characters that were well-rounded and true-to-life, which only made the story feel that much more rich and meaningful.

The main drawback for me was that it was a tad long - I know epics tend to be lengthy but there were some spots where I was just hoping to get to the next section. For some reason I wouldn't rave about this as much as a 5-star read but it is a story I'll probably think about for a while to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story will be a classic coming of age story about 2 orphans who must do whatever they can to survive during the summer of 1932. Travel along as they meet different characters who mold their livelihoods and help them to grow into men. This story includes Indian folklore and historical fiction about days during the war. It is a touching story about brothers who lost everything but who still have each other.

Recommended for fans of Contemporary and Historical Fiction. A tear jerking and heart wrenching story that will be a must read classic.

A beautiful piece of modern day classic literary fiction. Truly an epic tale about three children who become family and escape terrible situations and are faced with horrific adventures. A gritty, heartbreaking and heartwarming tale that many will adore!

RATINGS: 5 STARS
2019; Atria Book

This Tender Land is a beautiful novel. I am not sure there is anything I did not like about this novel, other than it ended. Krueger has this great balance of lyrical and raw writing. I went through so many emotions as I read this book, and wanted to underline all the great lines (which is probably the whole novel). As soon as I finished this novel, and recovered, I wanted to tell everyone to read it. This type of writing - other than historical fiction - does not really fall in one genre. I think this book will be around years to come as the story is timeless in the way classics have. If you have not read this one, please go out and get this one! His other standalone historical fiction novel, Ordinary Grace, is even better.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

Why is this author not more widely recognized??? He has once again delivered a raw, beautiful, heart-breaking and hope-inspiring gem of a novel. Complex characters that you love to love, and some you love to hate, people this adventure that sweeps the reader along.

This Tender Land put me through so many emotions- anger, sadness, relief, happiness. Odie and his brother, Albert, are orphans living at Lincoln Indian School in Minnesota, where they are horribly mistreated. They eventually escape with two others and attempt to make it to St. Louis. Their journey is filled with peril and adventure. I was reminded of Huckleberry Finn and Homer's Odyssey as I read this wonderful story. I highly recommend This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger.
#netgalley#williamkentkrueger#historicalfiction

Reminiscent of Huckleberry Finn, four orphans set off down a river to escape a brutal existence and the murder (justifiable homicide IMO) one of them committed.. Along the way they meet many people some good and kind who help them and others who exploit them, but this ragtag family manages to find their way forward. There are some religious overtones here, but does not feel "preachy." A good solid read. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital ARC for review.

This Tender Land was the book I didn't know I needed! It was magical and realistic, heartwarming and challenging. I love coming of age stories and appreciated the uniqueness of this tale, four children bound together by heartbreak and chance during the 1930s. I didn't want to put this book down. Read this book!!

The newest book, This Tender Land, by William Kent Krueger is my first introduction (but definitely not my last) to the author. Krueger is a gifted story teller, spinning a tale about family dynamics and how the family you choose can often mean as much or more than the family you are born into. This Tender Land takes the reader along with four orphans embarking on a epic river adventure and the people they meet along the way.

Thank you to Netgalley for and ARC of this book:

This Tender Land is a gem of a book! I cannot recommend it enough. I didn't want it to end. The story of four orphan children who run away from the Lincoln School for Indians (only one child is Native American) in Minnesota and head downriver toward St. Louis in 1932, it's an adventure, a story about family, about good vs. evil and about finding your place in the world. The author does such a fantastic job with character development and descriptions that I can't explain any other way that to say you must read it. These children will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

This book was wonderful, great narration. It reminded me of a little Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn adventures abound. The characters were believable. High tension and overcoming hardships.

This was such a powerful book, it had me in tears at the end. The first part of the book focuses on life in an Indian school, where children were sent from the reservation to forget their "savage ways" amidst the savagery of abuse by their "protectors." Odie, though not a native, is an orphan consigned to the home along with his brother. When events conspire to make it necessary for him to run away, he, his brother, an Indian friend, and a young orphan girl set off in a canoe to try to reach their aunt in St. Louis. This is during the Great Depression, when many others are on the move without support, and Kent Krueger brings that time period, with its desperation but also its hope, alive.

The second part of the book centers around the time the vagabonds spend with a religious healer, helping behind the scenes with the huge tent meetings. And the last third of the book takes place in St. Louis, as Odie finds out the story behind his placement in the school. Throughout, the children are chased by the owners of the school, and Odie finds solace himself and provides it for his companions through his music and his story-telling. The writing is beautiful, the locations come alive, and there is much to contemplate in this amazing book.

I thought this book was fine. It was very slow for me, and I felt that it should have been shorter. I know I am in the minority on this one but it just did not resonate with me.