Review: Great American Outpost

Great American Outpost by Maya Rao

Rating: 4 Stars

I've spent almost my entire life in southwestern North Dakota, only a few hours away from the epicenter of the recent oil boom in the Bakken. And even down here on the fringes of the boom, it's hard to believe how much has changed in such a short period of time. 

Maya Rao spent two years in the Bakken, investigating these changes, talking to farmers and ranchers, oil workers from around the world, oil executives, and government officials. Rao has written a book that brings to light how complicated this boom has been for everyone involved, while keeping an open mind and remaining neutral. The boom was romanticized, then villainized by everyone who has survived it (depending on which side you're on, of course). Rao is unbiased in her reporting of the issues, making this a perfect read for anyone who is interested in learning what life was and is really like in the Bakken. As someone who lives on the very edge of the oil activity, it gave me a much more clear idea of what happened during the boom/bust to my neighbors to the North. It's not as clear cut as some would believe, and Rao does an excellent job showing both sides of the story. This is a great book for anyone who is interested in learning about the largest oil boom in modern history, told by the people who lived it.

Thank you to NetGalley who provided me an advanced copy of this book.

Alex & Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz

Rating: 2.5 Stars

I, like most of America, have been swept up in the story of Alexander Hamilton and his family, including his wife, Eliza Schuyler Hamilton. Eliza was so much more than Hamilton's wife; she was an independent mind, who was years ahead of her time. So I was very excited to read this fictionalized account of their romance. Unfortunately, I feel that this book fell flat in that regard.

The whole story seemed very shallow. De la Cruz paid very close attention to detail and attempted to paint a picture of the time period, but in my opinion the attention to the day-to-day detail took away from the characters. I never felt that any of the characters were truly fleshed out, and it seemed like a very small percentage of the book was spent on interactions between Alex and Eliza, which was what I was there for! It came across as much more of a tell instead of show situation. Toward the end the reader is told how much Alex longs for Eliza and how much he loves her, but I didn't believe it. They'd barely spent any time together! The other characters all came across as two dimensional for me as well. No one lived up to their full potential.

I also felt the pacing was a little off. And maybe I felt that simply because it seemed like there was so much of the novel where nothing was really happening. It just plodded along, with no emotion behind any of the plot points or decisions the characters made.

It is aimed at young adults, so the writing style is different than what I'm used to reading, adult fiction, but that doesn't excuse a boring story, slow plot, and no character development. If you're really into young adult historical fiction, give it a try. If you're interested in reading about the passionate love story of Alexander Hamilton and Eliza Schuyler, I would skip it and try one of the other fictionalized accounts out there.