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Tough Luck by Sandra Dallas

Haidie Richards and her younger brother, Boots, grabbed my heart and didn't let go. When we meet them, Haidie is fourteen and her brother, Boots, is ten. Their father left them years ago and now their mother has died. Haidie's scoundrel of a brother, Cheet, sells her parents' farm, pockets the money and puts Haidie and Boots into an orphanage. Thank goodness the orphanage doesn't seem to be too horrible but it's certainly not a place where Haidie and Boots belong.

Haidie is a hard worker. She kept her parents farm going more than her brother Cheet ever did. Boots is a hard worker, too, and the siblings are loyal to each other in a way their father and older brother never were. Haidie is going to break herself and Boots out of the orphanage so they can go find their father in Colorado. Surely he never meant to leave them forever and would want them with him now that their mother is dead. For this to work, Haidie chops off her hair and presents herself as a boy since no one would want to take on a boy and a girl. Off Haidie and Boots go, with an orphanage ex worker, to make their life better.

Haidie and Boots meet some terrible people and find themselves in some deadly situations but the highlight of the story, for me, is all the good, decent people they meet. Even the two old ladies on a wagon train (not even thirty years old but to kids they seem ancient) turn out not to be the witches they seemed to the kids, at first. It's going to take a lot of help and work to get Haidie and Boots out of their numerous fixes but with the friends they have made, hope is on the horizon. I kind of hated to leave these characters and would loved to follow them around some more.

Expected pub April 29, 2025

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.