Sunday, September 7, 2014

A Light in the Wilderness

 A Light in the Wilderness by Jane Kirkpatrick, video link  http://youtu.be/8Ixka881BNY



Title: A LIGHT IN THE WILDERNESS
Author: Jane Kirkpatrick
Publisher: Revell
September 2014
ISBN: 978-0800722319
Genre: Historical

Three very different women. One dangerous journey. And a future that seems just out of reach.

Letitia holds nothing more dear than the papers that prove she is no longer a slave. They may not cause most white folks to treat her like a human being, but at least they show she is free. She trusts in those words she cannot read--as she is beginning to trust in Davey Carson, an Irish immigrant cattleman who wants her to come west with him.

Nancy Hawkins is loathe to leave her settled life for the treacherous journey by wagon train, but she is so deeply in love with her husband and she knows she will follow him anywhere--even when the trek exacts a terrible cost.

Betsy is a Kalapuya Indian, the last remnant of a once proud tribe in the Willamette Valley in Oregon territory. She spends her time trying to impart the wisdom and ways of her people to her grandson. But she will soon have another person to care for.

As season turns to season, suspicion turns to friendship, and fear turns to courage, three spirited women will discover what it means to be truly free in a land that makes promises it cannot fulfill. This multilayered story from bestselling author Jane Kirkpatrick will grip your heart and mind as you travel on the dusty and dangerous Oregon Trail into the boundless American West. Based on a true story.

A LIGHT IN THE WILDERNESS is a hard story to read at times. It hurt me how whites treated free blacks, though at the time period this is set in, I can understand the suspicion and the attitude. I did enjoy getting to know Tish, Nancy and Betsy as we shared in their struggles, losses, and gains. The writing is somewhat choppy and the story is hard to get into. However, if you love historical fiction or Jane Kirkpatrick, you might love it. This isn't one of my favorites by Jan Kirkpatrick. 320 pages. $9.99 Kindle. $14.99 paperback. 3 stars

About the Author

Jane Kirkpatrick is the New York Times and CBA bestselling author of more than twenty-five books, including A Sweetness to the Soul, which won the coveted Wrangler Award from the Western Heritage Center. Her works have been finalists for the Christy Award, Spur Award, Oregon Book Award, and Reader's Choice awards, and have won the WILLA Literary Award and Carol Award for Historical Fiction. Many of her titles have been Book of the Month and Literary Guild selections. You can also read her work in more than fifty publications, including Decision, Private Pilot, andDaily Guideposts. Jane lives in Central Oregon with her husband, Jerry. Learn more at www.jkbooks.com.



1 comment:

Judy said...

Thanks for your review Laura. I have this book. Not sure when I will get to it.

Blessings!
Judy B

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