Good story, but short. Good overview of what a wagon train would need to make good time across the country, and what went wrong with this particular caravan. Didn’t shy away from the grisly result of the Donner party’s getting lost, but didn’t glorify it either. ( )

This is a wonderful historical fiction chapter book about Douglas who was apart of the Donner party. The horrors of what happened are mentioned but are not explained in such details that are inappropriate for younger audiences. This book would be better for fifth grade to around sixth graders. ( )

This entire series is a wonderful way to learn history or teach it to adolescents. I find today's generations seem to recall more when they learn through other people (pop songs, celebrity gossip, etc.), so what better way to teach history than through someone else's perspective? Yes, "authentic" diaries would be "better", but would the language really hold the modern student's attention? Did the diary writer know what WOULD be important in the context of history? Probably not. ( )

Douglas Deeds, a 15 year-old orphan, keeps a journal of his travels by wagon train as a member of the ill-fated Donner Party, which became stranded in the Sierra Nevadas in the winter of 1846-47.

This is a good look at what life was like for the ill-fated Donner party in a book that is appropriate for children. The nastier aspects of the Donner party are referenced, but without gory details. ( )