Book Review: Andy Marino’s “The Oregon Trail Diary of Willa Porter”

Posted November 12, 2013 by Kathy Davie in Book Reviews

I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review: Andy Marino’s “The Oregon Trail Diary of Willa Porter”

"The Oregon Trail Diary of Willa Porter"


by

Andy Marino


fantasy, horror in eBook edition that was published by Tor Books on November 6, 2013 and has 32 pages.

Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon


A standalone horror fantasy as diary entries.

My Take

It’s a brilliant look inside the mind of an angry teen when this story starts in May 1, 1846 with the wagon train that Willa’s uncle, aunt, and cousin have joined. And it’s horrifying…absolutely horrifying and Marino wrote it so well that I can’t tell what is truth and what is fiction. What was truly horrifying was how easily I could see this happening. I appreciate even more the horrors that the pioneers had to face. That sense of abandonment, the ills…

Even if I had wanted to stop, I don’t think I could have.

The Story

It’s just a short blip in their journey by wagon train to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. A peep inside Willa Porter’s agonies and thoughts now that her parents are gone.

The Characters

Willa Porter is a young teen tossed into an unwanted guardianship due to her parents’ disgrace.

Barkface is Uncle John, a banker from St. Louis, while Horseface is Aunt Martha, and Sarah Jane, Willa’s cousin, is Pinchface obsessed with her dolls and the boys she attracts.

Pastor Kemple is obsessed with his Bibles.

The Cover and Title

The cover is perfect as the ultimate horror of this story as human blends into buffalo on these days on The Oregon Trail Diary of Willa Porter.