Homestead

"Homestead is a gripping tale of what it must have been like to be brave enough to build a life and survive in one of the world’s harshest environments long before it was cool to go “off grid.” But Melinda Moustakis also excellently captures the complexities around a moment in American history that too often is reduced to a line or two in schoolbooks – Alaskan statehood. It was during an era like now when American life seemed to be undergoing tectonic shifts. The characters in Homestead themselves are escaping tumultuous pasts largely tied to forces out of their control. Everything seems to come into focus for them only after a dramatic and tragic climax that’s just one of many reasons why you won’t want to put this novel down."