Hattie Ever After is the sequel to Hattie Big Sky. I loved, loved, loved Hattie Big Sky. I have reviewed it twice: once in 2007, once in 2012. I think I loved Hattie's determination as her inner strength is tested time and time again. I think I loved the relationships, the friendships, as Hattie makes a place for herself in a sometimes unfriendly world or environment. I think I loved the atmosphere. It read like a good old-fashioned pioneer story. Hattie Ever After has a very different feel to it. Hattie has had the opportunity to settle down with her sweetheart, Charlie, but has chosen to be independent and see the world for herself. In Hattie Ever After, Hattie is living in San Francisco trying to get her start--her real start--as a reporter at a newspaper. She has a job there, it's just a cleaning job, a night job. She's happy to have a job; she's happy to be making some money. But if only her research and instincts paid off and led to something...
But Hattie finds life isn't that easy or simple...
I didn't love Hattie Ever After; at the very least I didn't love it as much as Hattie Big Sky. I didn't enjoy the San Francisco setting as much. I also had a harder time establishing connections with the other characters. Hattie was Hattie, and I LOVE Hattie. That hasn't changed. But did I enjoy meeting any of the other characters? I'm not sure. Did I find the history intriguing? Yes, to a certain extent. There were women who were struggling to find their voice and have real careers outside the home; women wanting opportunities and respect. And I appreciated Hattie wanting to interview these women and working on a piece highlighting the women she met and admired. The story is also quite realistic, I imagine. Both Hattie Big Sky and Hattie Ever After are realistic in that way, in their not-movie endings.
Hattie was extremely vulnerable in Hattie Ever After, and it was hard for me to watch Hattie make mistakes and stumble BECAUSE of her innocence and sincerity.
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