Journey to Nowhere

by Mary Jane Auch

Overview

In the spring of 1815, Remembrance "Mem" Nye and her family set off in a covered wagon from their farm in Connecticut to the western New York wilderness. Mem and her mother see it as a journey to nowhere since there won't be any houses or neighbors, just endless forest. Their journey is filled with the uncertain danger of wild animals, raging storms, and cruel strangers. When Mem is unexpectedly separated from her family, she must face every danger alone while hoping to find her family again.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780440414919
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	11/10/1998
Edition description:	REPRINT
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	1,016,804
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.57(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Mary Jane Auch is the author of many popular books including Journey to Nowhere, Frozen Summer, and I Was a Third Grade Spy. She lives in Genesee County, New York, where her ancestors settled in the early 19th century.

Editorial Reviews

Mem's family is hit by the Murphy's Law of pioneeringif anything can go wrong, it will. In migrating from Connecticut to upstate New York in 1815, 11-year-old Mem is called upon to save her mother by hitting an attacker over the head with a tree limb, save an old man who gets bit by a rattlesnake, save herself after she gets lost in the wilderness, save her brother from a black bear and save her pig from wolves. Meanwhile, her parents accidentally drop Mem off the back of the wagon and drive off for several hours before they realize it, chop down a tree and almost kill their children, forget to properly lash down their wagon so they lose half their possessions, and nearly get swept away in a river after jumping in. The best part of this novel is where the family, alone in the wilderness, waits in vain for neighbors to show up to help them build a cabinthey come a day late, delayed because one of the families' houses has burned down. The concept of hapless pioneers is deliciously intriguing and probably very accurate; their descendants are the legions of Americans who hammer their thumbnails and get lost on the interstate. While it's unlikely that real-life settlers would have escaped unscathed from the consequences of such unrelieved carelessness or ignorance, the family's bumblings will open readers' minds to the hazards and privations of the pioneer life. Ages 9-12. (May)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 4-8The harsh realities of the frontier are brought to life through the eyes of 11-year-old Remembrance Nye. When her father decides the family is leaving their Connecticut home and moving to the Genesee County, NY, wilderness, the Nyes must prepare for the long trek. Mem's favorite horse is traded for oxen and the family goods are sold to neighbors. The girl learns about the dangers of the wilderness when she falls out of the wagon and is separated from her family, but after some searching and circling, she is reunited with them. After a treacherous and eventful journey, the Nyes reach their new home, and their difficult life continues. Mrs. Nye is frightened and lonely until her husband locates some neighbors, who offer to help in the building of their cabin, and the family becomes part of the community. Mem's strong character and her dislike of "women's work" make her a good match for the wilderness and all of its perils. Without giving a history lesson, Auch teaches readers about everyday life in the early 1800s, thus keeping them interested in the continuous action and appealing characters.Allison Trent Bernstein, Blake Middle School, Medfield, MA

School Library Journal

In 1815, Mem's father decides that the family will sell their Connecticut farm and nearly everything else they own to load up a wagon and make the long and hazardous trek to a new home in the Genesee Country of upstate New York. Mem and her mother see it as a journey to nowhere, to a desolate place with no house, no neighbors, no school—just endless forest. The trip is difficult from the start. After an unpleasant encounter with some turkey drovers, Mem gets separated from her family and seems hopelessly lost; the wagon turns over on a rickety bridge and much of the food and their few other possessions are washed away. The family pig—almost ready to birth a litter that will be needed on the new farm—is killed by a wolf, and Mem, too, is almost killed twice, first by a bear, and then by falling tree. Pleasant surprises await them at their new home: neighbors who pitch in to raise the family's cabin and barn, a real town only a day's journey away, and a school. It's an exciting tale, but the novel's real strength lies in the interesting characters and homely details of life on the frontier nearly two centuries ago, when Connecticut and New York were separated by more than a few hours on the interstate. From Auch (Eggs Mark the Spot, 1996, etc.), good historical details and a rattling good adventure.

Kirkus Reviews