Hannah Stands Tall
Hannah is a girl a modern preteen can really identify with. She’s not a perfect little Mormon girl, not a brave pioneer and not boring. Thrown unexpectedly into the role of homemaker when her mother and sister die, Hannah struggles to cope with life along the Santa Rosa River in 1866 Southern Utah. The family is isolated from most Latter-day Saints, and Hannah struggles to care for a demanding home, younger siblings and a wildcat she just can’t kill, even though she’s a better shot than her brother. There’s been too much death already.
Fear is making Hannah’s life a challenge. When she was small, she watched her best friend drown in the Platte River. Since that time, Hannah has been afraid of rivers. She also worries about her father, who doesn’t even seem to care that his wife and daughter have died. She worries about the terrible drought that threatens the crops. She worries about her brother, who was her friend and who now resents Hannah’s right to boss him. And when her mother’s sister arrives from Boston, stuffy and dull, Hannah worries that her father will let her go to school in Boston, or that he’ll make her stay only because she’s needed. If only he wanted her to stay out of love! There may be love in her father’s heart, but is it for his sister-in-law, or for the new widow? Is there any love left at all for a teenager who can’t do anything right?
And finally, there is a wonderful boy who has captured Hannah’s heart. But how will he react to the discovery that a pioneer girl is afraid of water?
Hannah captured my heart. She is real, with worries that any modern girl can identify with, but the unusual pioneer background of isolated Southern Utah adds a level of depth to the story. The scary parts made me afraid of the dark and the sad parts made me cry. But the ending was a triumphant realization that we can come to terms with our fears and challenges.
Shirley Rees has a degree in education from Brigham Young University. This pioneer tale is inspired by her research into the journals and family histories of her pioneer ancestors, who, like Hannah, helped to settle Southern Utah. Hannah’s farm is based on the farm of an ancestor, although the story is fictional. The author lives in Wyoming.