Karen Meyer

The story is based on a historical battle that occurred in the Kentucky area where the blue river is mined for salt. The story is told from the perspective of a young man who belongs to a frontier family. The young man had previously been kidnapped by a Shawnee Indian tribe and had become integrated into the Indian community as an adoptive family member, but later had escaped. This story continues to describe the conflict that exists between the Shawnee and the frontiersman. The story intersperses some nice action with thoughtful insight by the young man. Topics include the young man coming to grips with how he feels about his Indian family and his frontier family being on the differing sides, how he interacts with conflicts with other members of the frontier town, feelings about the potential need to join the local militia or take up arms against his Indian family, and watching his father get injured in a battle with the Indians and helping him survive the attack, and seeing his grandmother become gravely ill, among other aspects. There is an underlying theme of Christianity, and I found that the story became very preachy at times, but overall, I thought the story was interesting and would recommend… (mer)

I found this story to be an interesting take on life in the early frontier days of our country. I actually wished there was a little more detail in the story. At times, I felt like I was kind of jumping from episode to episode, without less tie-ins than I prefer. The story describes a family's move from Virginia to Pennsylvania and their interaction with the Indians in the region. At times humorous, thrilling and spiritual, I thought it was a good story about their adventures. For some, it might come across as a little too religious, but I expect the story is pretty consistent with how religious folk lived and acted 200+ years ago.… (mer)