Song of Sampo Lake
William Durbin
210 pages

Historical fiction - 1900
(First 35 or so pages)
Matti Ojala and his family are Finnish immigrants to Minnesota in America. At first, they settle near a mine, where Matti, his older brother Timo, Father, and his uncle Wilho work dangerous 10-hour shifts underground to save up some money to homestead (verb) . Tragically, Wilho is killed in a mining accident, so Matti’s father decides to file their homestead claim right away.
Homestead - any dwelling with its land and buildings where a family makes its home.
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This is where the story really begins. The family's new homestead is in the wilderness, located beside Sampo Lake. They need to work very hard to build a new house, clear the land, and earn money to buy supplies. Even Matti's little sisters helped out.
Along the way, Matti proves himself to his father, who had generally favoured Timo more in the past. Not in a desperate kind of way though, of course.
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Like most historical fiction novels, the setting is realistic, while the characters' personal struggles are made-up. Anybody grade 5+ will find this story relatively easy to read. "Coming-of-age" theme (about Matti) and a bit of insight on the life of a Finnish settler.

Rating 4/5

David
3; total 12 hours
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