I am quickly becoming a Karen Witemeyer fan. Her writing is fantastic, just look at all the five star ratings that she has received for this book. My questions are this, 1) Is this a Western? 2) Is this a Romance Novel? 3) Is this a case study for pyschology students? 4) Is this a Christian Novel intended to teach life lessons to all of us? The answer to all these questions is YES!
Witemeyer gives us a wonderful novel that has several themes that are included. Here are a few of the themes that your book study group could dig out and discuss;
1) How do you help your kids learn to handle a bully?
2) Is it good to become isolated to protect your family? Today's culture isolates with home schooling or private schooling or legalism or very controlling parents? Is that good?
3) What about what the Bible teaches about being a good neighbor?
4) What about the need for social adjustment for a family even though they have faced serious stresses?
5) What part does God play in our lives?
6) Oh, don't forget to pick up on the social justice / let's get over racial prejudice that the book touches on
Well, you want to know what the story line is so here it is in a nutshell?
A young Meredith is being bullied by some kids at school because she is a bit socially different. She is not weird, just an easy target. Because of the bullying she is pushed to enter the land of The Archer's a notorious group of young men who live separated from the world who train attack dogs and shoot anyone who comes on their property. REALLY? They are only kids at the time of this reputation.
Well Meredith goes on the property and steps in a coyote trap and gets her leg caught. Now here comes the ferocious attack dog and the gun totting young Travis Archer. She is sure that she is about to die. But the dog turns out to be a mild mannered puppy whom Travis is trying to train to be a bird dog (but not becing successful). The gun totting Travis, is actually disarmed by the little girl caught in a steel trap that he set and is possibly hurt, not to mention cute.
But Meredith is more than a little gtirl. Meredith has strength of character that impresses Travis. He frees her from the trap, splints her leg and carries her from the forest to her parents home, not bad for a vicious gun totting seclusinist who doesn't want to be involved with society.
Fast forward now twelve years. Meredith is a disfigured young woman (her lef was damaged and never grew right after the trap) whose one let is shorter than the other. She is also alone, her parents (who use to teach 'freedmen" have died from consumption). She leaves with her uncle who wants to marry her off to a lumber baron who only wants her for her parents homestead and land.
Meredith over hears a plot by Roy to burn out the Archers and force them to sell their land. Meredith can't let that happen.
So, she goes to the Archer's land, again, and trespasses to warn them. Upon seeing Travis she is left tongue tied, he is left with a heart that is thumping in an erratic way. Long story short, they are in love and have been for twelve years even though they haven't seen each other in that twelve years (is that possible?).
The rest of the story is how the Archer's must fend off Roy Mitchell and his thugs, how Travis is forced to marry Meredith because her uncle demands that he do so after she has spent alone with the Archer boys, and whether or not Travis and Meredith truly are in love and whether the Archer's will retain their homestead.
There are many other twists and turns in the story. But the truths are deeply embedded within the writing, the Bible lessons are deeply embedded in writing and the social / moral lessons are deeply embedded in the writing.
You will be drawn to think through how you would respond, how you would act, how you would put your trust in God to the test through the trials that Travis and Meredith face.
Oh, and there is lots of Western Romance action, lots of gun's, lots of horseback riding, lots of going after the cattle, even a stubborn mule who maybe brings about the most honest heart searching to be done by Travis in the whole story. Or is maybe when Meredith almost freezes to death?
Oh and did I mention that there happens to be a General Store Owner who thinks women are nothing but trouble and hopes to prove that Meredith is more trouble than her worth, but she wins him over with her womanly wiles (not to mention home back cookies) to the point that he becomes one of the hero's in the end?
This book is great. Don't skip over any characters or any of the story line, it all ties together and is all important.
Greed, Romance, Mystery, Danger, more Greed, more Romance and plenty of Western Cowboy themes to boot.
Enjoy!
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