The author is Laura Ingalls Wilder's daughter, and this is an alternative telling of the story of the author's grandparents (Laura's parents). Apparently in the original edition of this, the names were the same, Charles and Caroline. Here it's David and Molly.

There are a lot of the same story beats as in the Little House series: The covered wagon trek, the wheat destroyed by locusts, Molly having to spend the winter alone on the homestead while David looks for work in the east to pay debts.

The story is overall a bit tighter, but told with less of the lush detail that makes the Little House series stand out. It's also a bit darker, but that may be just a factor of having a lot of the dangers of wolves, claim-jumpers,  and outlaws packed into one relatively short book.

This was an enjoyable "alternative take" on the Little House series that stands well on its own.