Where Coyotes Howl

Dallas (Little Souls) delivers a sprawling and immersive story of homesteaders carving out a life in Wyoming. Seeking adventure, 23-year-old Ellen Webster leaves her Iowa home in 1916 to teach in a one-room schoolhouse in the small town of Wallace, imagining a Wild West adventure of bronco riding, cowboys, and pine-covered mountains. Though the brown, flat plains are a disappointment to her, rancher Charlie Bacon is not. The two are smitten at first sight, and after they marry and settle on a small ranch, Ellen tends to the batten-and-board house and garden and Charlie oversees a neighbor’s cattle and a few of their own. Soon a baby is on the way, though prairie life proves difficult, with blizzards, scorching summers, drought, and disease. Ellen and Charlie’s relationship, meanwhile, is tested by a series of losses, but their love is strong. So are Ellen’s bonds with other prairie women, among them Gladys, whom Ellen stands by despite the risk of scandal when Gladys returns to prostitution after her children die. Another friend, Ruth, is abused by her husband, and despite warnings from Charlie that interfering would make things worse, Ellen helps spirit Ruth out of town to safety. Well-rounded characters, convincing period details, and a sumptuous setting make this sing. Readers will be hooked. (Apr.)