Where
the Trail Ends is a great historical novel. Melanie has done her
research and portrays what it was like to travel West before The
Oregon Trail was well established. The wagon trails were run like a
democracy with an elected train leader and a list of rules.
The
novel follows eighteen year old Samantha, her young brother Micah,
their father, and the family's wolfhound Boaz. The father had
planned the trip West for their mother as it was thought the western
location would be better for her illness but the trip came to late.
It would be two thousand miles from their Ohio home to the Willamette
Valley. Two thousand miles of hardship.
Interspersed
with Samantha's story is that of Alexander Clarke in Fort Vancouver
and an agent of a fur trading company in London. He is getting
experience in all aspects of the business as it seems he will soon be
running the company. He has a woman of London's society waiting for
him back in London – a marriage planned more for social reasons
than love.
Melanie
has done an excellent job of telling the story of those who came
through the mountains, across rivers, through terrible weather, and
more, to reach the land they planned to farm. The harsh travel
conditions are accurately represented and there is just enough
romance to lighten the severity of the story. I highly recommend it.
Melanie
Dobson is the award-winning author of eleven novels. She won the
ACFW Carol Awards for two of her novels. She is the former corporate
publicity manager at Focus on the Family. Born and raised in the
Midwest, she and her husband and their two daughters now live near
Portland, Oregon. You can find out more about her at
www.MelanieDobson.com.
I am participating in a blog tour of this book and you can read other reviews of this novel here.
Summerside
Press, 333 pages.
Please visit your local Christian bookstore to buy this book.
I
received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for the
purpose of this review.
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