Perspective

Author Marian Calabro had written several history books for children prior to this book, and she has a special interest in American history and biography. As the book is intended for young readers, Calabro writes with simple sentences and vocabulary. There also seems to be an effort to spare the young reader some of the more grisly details about the extreme hunger and eventual cannibalism of the Donner Party, though Calabro certainly does not shy away from addressing the issue of cannibalism head on.

On that topic, it is clear Calabro wishes to complicate the readers' notion that the Donner Party is simply about cannibalism. The author wishes to share the broader story of the Donner Party and show that cannibalism only came about after a long series of unfortunate events and as a last resort to lethal hunger.

The author particularly relies upon the accounts of survivor...