I walked into this book thinking it was a science fiction, in the future type of book. It was, but more about the setting, than the plot. It actually was an interesting way to read about three different time periods.
A girl has been chosen to go live on Mars in a small commune. In preparation, she is told to get rid of all communication devices and stay with family (probably to see how they would do in seclusion). She has no problem with this, as she has no friends, never had. She grew up in boarding schools because her parents died when she was very young. But the program found a long lost relative who lives on a farm, and is 108. While there, she finds some letters from distant relatives. Those letters are from the relatives who lived on the farm during the 1930's Dust Bowl. There were letters from before that the girl then found that were from just after the Great War. So, a story within a story within a story. It was like peeling an egg. There are love stories, stories of survival, and stories of bildungsromans (look it up).
I guess it would be a historical novel set in the future? Or a science fiction book about the past? I don't know. That's why I don't put books in genres in my library. But, it was interesting all the same.