Hattie Big Sky at ShenanArts, Inc.

Hattie Big Sky is based on the 2006 Newberry Honor young adult novel of the same name by Kirby Larson. Loosely based on the experiences of the author’s great-grandmother, it tells the story of 16-year-old Hattie Inez Brooks, an orphan from Iowa who leaps at the chance to claim her deceased uncle’s Montana homestead.

Set in 1917, the novel interweaves the challenges of prairie life with snapshots of the American home front during WWI. Hattie struggles not only to fence, plant, and harvest in order to “prove up” on her claim and thus make it her own but also to discover who she truly is and where she belongs. We see Hattie’s innermost emotions and struggles through her letters to her best friend, Charlie, who is fighting overseas, and through the articles she begins to write for her hometown newspaper.

Though an orphan, Hattie is quickly embraced by the neighboring Mueller family. This friendship opens her eyes to the pain caused by the prevailing anti-German sentiment and encourages her to take a stand against it. Another neighbor, the handsome Traft Martin, seems charming and helpful, but his activities with the Council of Defense leave Hattie with a sense of unease. Hattie, who until now never had much agency in her own life, learns who her true friends are as she experiences both the joys and sorrows of life on the prairie. When her dreams of making the claim a home of her own crumble, Hattie must overcome her grief and open herself up to new possibilities.