Durbin, William. Song of Sampo Lake.

Random House, Wendy Lamb Books, 216p. c2002. 0-385-90055-4, $17.99. J

Fifteen-year-old Matti comes to Minnesota with his Finnish family in 1900, homesick for the beauty of the old country but eager to help create a better, more independent life in the new one. At first the men work in a dangerous mine, to raise money for a homestead. Then they struggle to clear land in the woods and to build a cabin and a barn (and, of course, a sauna). Matti, stuck in the middle between his athletic older brother and his cute younger sisters, struggles in addition to find a way to stand out in his family. He takes a job clerking in the local general store one day a week, accompanied by his pet crow, which he had rescued after a storm. He also tutors the neighboring boys, and works hard at all of the many tasks on the homestead, from clearing the fields to hauling milk to hunting. Matti uses his brain as well as his muscles, saving his sister from drowning and surviving a blizzard, among other adventures. Assisted by a one-legged neighbor, a colorful character who sometimes has visions of the future, Matti learns much. In the end he earns his father's respect, demonstrating "sisu," a Finnish word meaning "strength, courage, and stubbornness."

Durbin, the author of the historical sagas The Broken Blade and Wintering, lives in Minnesota himself and clearly knows the landscape well. As in Little House on the Prairie, the many details here of what it takes to survive in a harsh land and climate make homesteading and history come alive. History and adventure fans will enjoy this. Paula Rohrlick, KLIATT