How can you not like a book where the heroine drives a Stutz Bearcat? ( )

Not my favorite of Stratton-Porter's books, but definitely fascinating if just because of the political bent of the characters.
First, the reader must remember that the book was published in 1921, not long after WW! (hence the intense dislike of the German people) and during this period of history, the Japanese were flexing their muscles by invading and decimating parts of China and Korea a (reflected in the anti-Japanese rhetoric the characters pontificate).
The story follows a high school student, Linda, as she moves through life in the earl _ days of the Los Angeles area. She is an orphaned daughter of a surgeon and his wife, who with her elder sister, live extremely comfortably on their inheritance-although the elder sister does take advantage of being in charge of money and gives herself a much more comfortable life than Linda. This is resolved over the year in which the book takes place.
Linda is an extraordinary individual, I think what she says and does is a direct reflection of who Gene Stratton-Porter was when she wrote this book. She writes and illustrates a monthly column for a New York magazine, assists and directs older and professional writers and architects in their work (men who by description in the book are wildly successful in their fields yet somehow an untrained 17 year old knows better).
I could go on ad nauseam about this girl's brilliance, but hopefully you get the picture.

What I really enjoyed about this book, is the description and history of the Los Angeles area during this time period. Ms Stratton-Porter put her heart into these areas of her written work. As an active environmentalist (you need to read her bio, she was amazing!) she would delve into learning bout the flora and fauna of whatever area she lived or visited. And boy can she put her knowledge to pen and make it come to life!

I can also appreciate the anti-German and anti-Japanese rhetoric of the characters. Initially this shocked me as today a book like this would be "cancelled", but after a few minutes of though and research, I realized how pervasive this belief was 100 years ago. It also reinvigorated my interest in world event s of this time period.

I believe people with an open mind and a desire to learn where we were 100 years ago will like this book very much. ( )

Not bad, though not good, as far as the story goes - and fantastic descriptions of the land and plants of Southern California. However, it's spoiled by rampant racism. A large part of the driver of the story is the "Jap" in a high school class, and how he's at the top of the class - which is a shame to all whites (cue long rants about the Yellow Peril (she literally uses those words)) and besides all they can do is imitate so the white boy should figure out some new way to come at the questions and leave the Jap in the dust...ugh. And when the white boy does top him in class, there are mysterious attempts on the white boy's life, based on other "Japs" being willing to stab the white boy in the back to help the "Jap" in the class. It's so incredibly stupid - textbook othering and disparaging. I repeat, UGH. And it's so much of a driver I don't think it could be removed from the book without major surgery. Other than that, it's an OK romance, of an odd sort - the heroine is so much her father's daughter that she's never really learned anything about being feminine. Despite (or because of) this, she has at least three men after her (politely) for most of the book. Oh yes, there's a second villain - who is totally underhanded, as well as being romantically pushy, but this is put on him rather than on all...white men (can't), men from (wherever he's from, not local), short men...whatever. It's that one individual who's a villain - so she knew how to do it, but didn't apply that technique to the boy (who isn't such a boy) in the school. Anyway, it ends up with the heroine putting herself entirely in the hands of an older man - given how much, throughout the book, she's demonstrated self-confidence and ability, this rings a wrong note. I don't know. The more I think about it the less I like it. The descriptions of the countryside, and the discussions of how to eat and otherwise use the plants there, are fantastic. But the story itself ranges from barely readable to unacceptable. ( )

Loved this one in my teens! Belonged to my mother and I loved the Stutz Bearcat that figured prominently in the storyline

Written well before the Second World War, this novel is apt to make modern readers wince with its casual destruction of fragile ecosystems and vicious anti-Asian racism. At times Stratton-Porter's attitudes come very close to what would today be regarded as white supremacist thinking. The heroine, Linda, advocates simple and "sensible" living, but ideas of what is "sensible" have certainly changed in 80+ years' time. ( )