Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell. I was originally intrigued by this book because the name of the Ukrainian family whose story it tells is very close to my own. It is a tale rich in detail, about a year in the life of an immigrant family trying to tame the great plains of central Canada during the 1930's. For a first novel, this is a superbly written piece, capturing the very essence of its characters and the environment they are trying to make their own. Mitchell shows a remarkable ability to write not only about the trials of the parents, but also paints extremely effective portraits of their children, as they experience the joys of childhood, while at the same time, suffer the pain and disappointment of carving out civilization in a wild landscape. Based on the quality of this first effort, I look forward to more of Mitchell's work in future.