Monday, January 28, 2013

A Dream For Tomorrow-Melody Carlson

A Dream For Tomorrow


Melody Carlson

Harvest House, Feb 1 2013, $13.99

ISBN: 9780736948739



In 1856 widow Elizabeth Martin decided to fulfill the dream she and her late husband James shared of moving to Oregon Country where her brother-in-law and his family lives. James’ parents and Elizabeth’s brother Matthew Dawson agreed to join her, her two children (Jamie and Ruth) and her freed slave Brady visit her parents for Christmas. By 1857 the Dawson Party in three modified prairie schooners joined a wagon train heading west.



As the trek heads into dangerous territory, Elizabeth and wagon train scout Eli Kincade are attracted to one another, but both have doubts. Also interested in the widow is widower Will Bramford, a Boston lawyer with three teens. In Oregon Territory, the travelers go to their separate destinations with the Dawson Party sailing south along the Pacific coast.



The second Homeward on the Oregon Trail (see Westward Hearts) is a fabulous mid nineteenth century Americana due to a strong cast and vivid scenery that readers will believe we traverse rushing rivers and snowcapped mountains. Elizabeth holds the engaging storyline together with her belief in the Lord enabling her to overcome hardship, fears and doubts especially when some travelers prove duplicitous and ugly. The relationships between Elizabeth and her extended family and her with the two men attracted to her add depth enhancing a strong historical fiction.



Harriet Klausner





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