In this homage to True Grit, a young woman makes a perilous journey west in 1863 in search of her gold-mining father.
After their mother dies, Haidie Richards and her younger brother, Boots, are put to work in an orphanage. Their father left four years earlier to find a gold mine in Colorado Territory, and since then he’s sent only three letters. Still, Haidie is certain that he is alive, has struck gold, and will soon send for them.
But patience is not one of Haidie’s virtues, and soon she and her brother make a break for it. Boots and Haidie, disguised as a boy, embark on a dangerous journey deep into Western territory. Along the way, Haidie learns fast not only how to handle mules, oxen, and greedy men, but also that you are better off in a community. Hers includes a card shark, independent “spinster” sisters, and a very fierce dog. Once she arrives in Colorado and finds out the truth about her father, Haidie will need all her new friends for a get-even plot worthy of The Sting.
Filled with vivid period detail, colorful characters, and the irreverent voice of our scrappy heroine, Tough Luck celebrates both the tenacity of youth and the persistence of the heart in the great American West.
Dear Ms. Dallas,
The description of “True Grit” x “The Sting” plus how much I liked another of your novels, “The Diary of Mattie Spenser,” made it a no-brainer for me to read this one.
“You are fourteen and a girl and have no rights. Tough luck.”
Haidi is only fourteen but she can lie, steal, and come up with plans which is a good thing as her ailing mother just died, beyond three letters her pa hasn’t been heard from in years, her older brother Cheet has taken almost all the money from selling the family farm and wants to be a card-shark river boat gambler, and her younger brother Boots has noone but Haidi to rely on. After Cheet dumps them in an orphanage, it’s Haidi who spots the opportunity to get them out and on their way to Denver to find the father she’s sure hasn’t died or abandoned them. When the truth is revealed, it’ll take a village of people Haidi and Boots have met along the way to enact well earned revenge.
“I believed in Pa, although nobody else in the family did. Ma nagged him all the time, and Cheet laughed at him, so maybe that was why Pa had taken me up. He taught me to fish and to plow the field and ride astride like a boy. He said I was the best son he had, although he had Cheet and Boots. My older brother said I was too young to have known Pa for a failure. Maybe so, but somebody had to believe in him. And Pa believed in me.”
As this is more of a young-adult focused book (Haidi is fourteen and Boots is younger), I can make allowances for how neatly things line up at times as well as the toned down violence. I was enjoying myself too much watching Haidi take no prisoners, forge ahead, and prove herself. Haidi may be an expert liar but if she’s given her word or someone has treated her fairly, she’ll pledge herself and mean it. Haidie also gets some more lessons in growing up.
“Sometimes it pays to let the other feller take the glory, even if he don’t deserve it. And it don’t hurt you none. There’s reasons. Think on it, young Haidie.”
Given her youth, Haidie could have given up on her father and on getting justice. But Haidie is no quitter. With the situation they’re in, Haidie could have stopped shielding Boots from the danger they’re in or not supported his belief that they’d find their father a rich man. But Haidie loves her brother Boots (and doesn’t actually hate their older brother Cheet). Haidie is strong and takes this all on her shoulders and makes getting to Denver happen.
“We will not ask further of you. You are both mother and father to your brother, a faithful companion to Mr. Bondurant, and you have proved a worthy friend to my sister and me. You did not flinch or turn aside when called upon to aid in her surgery. And now you are offering to be an even greater friend to us. We shall not forget your kindness when we reach Denver, Haidie.”
Along the way they meet several people. Most are good or are mostly good. The bad ones are fairly obvious from the get-go and usually get their comeuppance. I like that if there is a question, most of the characters are willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt until such time as their true character has been revealed. In some cases, even after a person has disappointed them, someone will still act with honor towards them because that’s what honorable people do. You can be a cheat and scoundrel but I’m not going to stoop to your level.
Every so often, she put her head in her hands and sniffed. She didn’t make any noise, but I could tell she was crying. Then she’d wipe her face with her hands and stare out over the mules and sigh and ask, “Why am I sorrowing for a man that ain’t worth it?”
“It’s because you’re a good person,” I told her.
Though this is a relatively short book, it’s tightly written with dialog that sounds period without also sounding overdone. There are brief mentions of things such as
but the details are kept (I assume) deliberately vague. Things move at a brisk pace until the plot arrives at the Sting which is beautiful to watch as it unfolds.
I grinned at the two old maids, and suddenly, I felt as happy as I’d been when I’d come up with the scheme to get me and Boots out of the orphan home.
A common theme in your books is the strength of women, often in the face of how the men in their lives disappoint them. Not everything goes as Haidie thought it would, she has some hard lessons to learn, and she’s allowed to be mad about some of them. There are some loser men here but thankfully enough good’uns plus one or two who appear to pull themselves up a bit. The draw for me though is watching one fourteen year old girl overcome long odds against her. B+
~Jayne
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Jayne
Another long time reader who read romance novels in her teens, then took a long break before started back again about 25 years ago. She enjoys historical romance/fiction best, likes contemporaries, action- adventure and mysteries, will read suspense if there’s no TSTL characters and is currently reading more fantasy and SciFi.
