Book: The Great Railroad Race: Diary of Libby West (One of the “Dear America” books)

Author: Kristiana Gregory

Genre: Historical Fiction/journal

Page Count: 204

Libby’s father is a reporter for a local newspaper. But not for long! He plans to make his own newspaper following the Union Pacific Railroad in the great railroad race, a race between the two railroad company’s starting from opposite sides of the continent, trying to cover more land, and therefor make more money. And Libby, her mother, and her brother, are going with him.

Before this book I had only ever read one book in a diary format. I think it really gave me more of an insight of what the character was thinking and less about what things happening actually looked like. It was also interesting because the character decided when they wanted to write, so there were tiny time jumps where you knew almost nothing about what happened in-between.

I thought this book did a good job showing what it was like for a family to travel alongside the railroads. I also thought it did a good job showing how big it was that these railroads were crossing the continent, especially compared to now where you can just hop on a plane and be there in a few hours. Anyways, If you like historical fiction and the diary format, or want to learn more about the great railroad race, you should read this book.