Willa Cather's My Antonia

Orphaned young, Jim Burden travels west to Nebraska to live with his grandparents on the open prairie. On the same train rides a lively girl named Antonia, a Bohemian immigrant whose family has come to farm the land. The two become neighbors and grow into lifelong friends. The family's hopes for prosperity crumble as money runs out and every day becomes a struggle to endure. Antonia, though, keeps her dignity and wild spirit through each hardship, and her presence shapes Jim's view of the country and of himself.