Land of Dreams

From Norway to America, they must strive for resilience amid unpromising new beginnings.

On the ship to America, Norwegian immigrant Amalia Gunderson makes a solemn promise to a dying mother, vowing to watch over her five-year-old daughter, Ruth. Together, Amalia and Ruth trek to Iowa to claim the farm and former boardinghouse that Ruth has inherited, despite opposition from a difficult cousin. Struggling with an empty house and scarce resources, Amalia resolves to return the boardinghouse to its former purpose, aided by the kindness of strangers and the resilient spirit of her young charge.

As Amalia and Ruth fight for their new home, a trail of orphans shows up on their doorstep, and Amalia makes a promising friend in Absalom Karlsson, the magistrate's son. With each challenge they face, Amalia and Ruth find hope in believing that faith and determination can overcome even the most daunting of trials.

This Christian historical romance from Lauraine Snelling transports readers to frontier America, exploring themes of new beginnings, resilience, and faith. For fans of Janette Oke and Tracie Peterson.

These discussion questions were provided by the publisher, Baker Pubilshing Group.

Book club questions for Land of Dreams by Kiersti Giron and Lauraine Snelling

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

Amalia and Ruth come as immigrants to America. Do you have immigrant stories in your family history? Share!

Zelda brings a great deal of strife and stress to Amalia’s and Ruth’s lives. How do they handle it? Do you think there’s anything Amalia could or should have done differently? How did the conflict with Zelda make you feel?

How have you handled situations with difficult people in your life? How did you feel about how the conflict with Zelda was resolved?

Absalom carries hurt from his broken engagement with Rebecca. How does meeting Amalia and Ruthie help bring healing to his heart?

Many people show welcome and assistance to Amalia and Ruth when they arrive, from Magistrate and Absalom Karlsson to the Miller family. How can we show welcome and give help to new immigrants in our own communities?

The boardinghouse becomes a sort of shelter for a wide variety of people in this story—Hank, JJ, Noah, Helen, etc. Which characters did you especially enjoy “meeting”? How does each contribute in their own way to the story and the boardinghouse “family”?

Amalia and Ruthie both experience deep grief over the loss of their parents. How does the process of grief affect them similarly and differently? How do they help each other step toward healing in this book?

Hank struggles to let anyone help him. How does he become part of the boardinghouse family? Why do you think he lets Amalia and Ruth take him in?

Magistrate Karlsson does much to help those in his community, from Hank to JJ to Noah’s parents to Amalia and Ruth, but he doesn’t want to be noticed for it. Do you think he is a reflection of Jesus’s words to not let our right hand know what our left is doing? How is the magistrate an inspiration to you?

Later in the book, Amalia reaches a point of realizing she can’t do it all on her own—that she needs to both lean on the Lord’s strength and also accept the help of those He has put around her. Do you ever have trouble asking for help? How can Christian community help shoulder the burdens we find too heavy on our own?

Land of Dreams Book Club Questions PDF

Click here for a printable PDF of the Land of Dreams discussion questions