I have read a lot of books about women's history in the US and I don't remember hearing much about Clarina Nichols. That's a shame, because she was apparently an important figure in the suffrage movement and during the first wave of feminism. I really enjoyed learning about her life. This book is well-written, engaging and provides a good amount of detail about Ms. Nichols and all that she accomplished to push women toward equality. The writing style is more like a novel, which would make it more appealing to younger people. If you have an interest in this period of history, I highly recommend this book. ( )

An exciting story about an early leader in abolition and women's rights, one who, for that matter, continued to support black male suffrage even after it became clear that women's suffrage was being sacrificed for fear that both could not pass at once. Far too few people can name more 19th century women's suffragists than Susan B. Anthony and perhaps Elizabeth Cady Stanton (maybe Sojourner Truth at a stretch, but passing familiarity with her is more likely to include only her status as an escaped slave and abolitionist). When I requested this book from ER, I didn't realize that it was a YA adaptation of a fuller length adult biography that had come out ten years before, and I didn't figure it out until I was halfway through the book and discovered a bookmark advertising the line of YA history books. Without knowing it was meant for YA, I found the prose a bit simplistic, but once I realized the intended audience, it made sense and the style seemed appropriate. I hope to have time to read the adult version, Revolutionary Heart, soon, but this was certainly worth reading once.

Clearly written and informative. Excellent young adult book informing young women of the struggles and importance of the suffrage movement. Clarina Nichols is not a household name but it should be. I was impressed by the sacrifices she made in service to forwarding the rights of women. She fought for equality on many fronts: property rights, inheritances, child custody, abuse by husbands and voting equality.
She realized that unless women had the right to vote the policies and lack of legal rights for women would not change.
I very much recommend this book for the young adult category. The only reason I did not give it a higher rating is that I am not a young adult and found the level of writing simplistic and somewhat repetitive. ( )

Clarine Nichols spent her life working for the rights of women. Not only voting but the right to own property and to care for her children. Born in Vermont in 1810 she and all 7 brothers and sisters survived into adulthood. She married justin Nichols who came from a well-established Baptist family. She later divorces him and marries Nichols who was several years older than herself. She wrote for Nichols newspaper and became the editor. She became involved with the temperance movement and worked along with such leaders as Elizabeth Cady Stanton to establish the women's right to vote. She moved to Kansas and was involved in Kansas becoming a state and passing the right of women to own property.

This young adult biography is adapted from the author's adult biography Revolutionary Heart.The book follows Clarina life from birth until her death in 1885. From Vermont to California she worked to see women gained property rights as well as the vote.This was not an easy life and the author provides examples of efforts she took to promote these ideas. As a Kansas born women I found the chapters of Kansas territory most interesting and informative. The last chapters share a short history of the woman's movement up to the passage of the 19 amendment.
An excellent book to share with both genders to show the efforts taken on behalf of women to become equal citizens of this country. Especially important during this election year where a women has gained to right to be the President of the United States. ( )

iane Eickhoff helps to educated young adults and older by creating another version of her book, Revolutionary Heart about Clarina Nichols. Somehow, I missed that book but was delighted to read Clarina Nichols: Frontier Crusader for Women’s Rights. This is timely book to read because we still don’t have equal pay for equal work and there are still politicians who want to make it more difficult to vote.

Clarina’s life is one of courage, resilience and strength. I was not familiar with her life and contribution. Of course, I knew about Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Lucrezia Mott (an ancestor) and Elizabeth Cady Stanton but not with her or many of the names in the back of the book in the chapter, A Quick History of the Women’s Rights Movement.

Clarina’s empathy for other women in dire situations came from her first marriage. Her husband Justin Carpenter did not take on the responsibility of supporting his family, he was an attorney but did not want to practice. She was forced to piece together money for food for children by taking in sewing and boarders. He deserted her and took the children. She enlisted the help of her father in law and brother in law to get them back.

She knew that women should not have go through with what she did and started writing her arguments using a pseudonym in a paper in a different town. She was very smart and was skillful in using humor to get her views across. She was on her way to becoming a crusader for women’s rights. She endured many hardships but never gave up. This is just the beginning of her story.

I am thankful that Diane Eickhoff took an extra step by writing this book to help other people be aware of Clarina Nichols' contribution. This book is full of interesting pictures of Clarina Nichols' life, a section for further reading, notes and acknowledgments. It is well written, never boring and always inspiring.

I received a finished copy of this book as a win from LibraryThing from the publishers in exchange for a fair book review. My thoughts and feelings in this review are totally my own. ( )