Westerns

The Whistling Season is one of 13 novels written by the late Ivan Doig. As with many of his other works, the story is set in Montana in the first half of the 20th century. Written in the first person, the narrative primarily takes place over the 1909-10 school year of the main character, 13-year-old Paul Milliron. Paul’s widowed father hires a housekeeper, Rose, who arrives with her brother, Morrie Morgan. Morrie, who becomes the... Read The Whistling Season Summary

True Grit is a 1968 western novel by Charles Portis that tells the story of Mattie Ross, a determined and headstrong 14-year-old girl from Arkansas who seeks vengeance for her father’s murder. With the unlikely help of Rooster Cogburn, a tough US Marshal, and LaBoeuf, a Texas Ranger, Mattie sets out to capture the killer, Tom Chaney. True Grit was an instant bestseller, adapted as a film in 1969 and in 2010. This guide uses the... Read True Grit Summary

Under a Painted Sky is a young adult historical novel set on the Oregon Trail during the 1849 Gold Rush. It is a debut novel by Stacey Lee, inspired by her own family history as a fourth-generation Chinese American. The novel won several prizes, including an American Library Association award. Her corpus focuses on Chinese culture and Chinese American experiences. Her other works with these themes include Outrun the Moon (2016), The Downstairs Girl (2019), Luck of... Read Under a Painted Sky Summary

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James Welch’s novel, Winter in the Blood, is a seminal text in the field of Indigenous American literature. The novel was published in 1974 during the Native American Renaissance, a period that began in the late 1960s, when works by Indigenous Americans in the United States gained wider publication. Welch is a preeminent figure of the movement and received praise for representing Indigenous Americans in realistic ways that acknowledge cultural divisions.In the novel, Welch uses... Read Winter In The Blood Summary

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