The Sheepish Scribe

Courting Morrow Little: A Novel by Laura Frantz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

By far the best book I’ve read this year. I could not put this one down. A gripping tale with characters you’ll never forget.

Morrow Little was five years old when Indians killed her mother and younger sister, and took her older brother captive. She and her father, a preacher in a Kentucky wilderness settlement, carried on as best they could. Pa survived through forgiveness and befriending the Shawnee. Morrow grew bitter and fearful.

Morrow Little seems a most unlikely character to survive on the frontier. Small, fearful, and uncertain, she is anything but a stereotypical pioneer woman. I like that deviation. It made the story much more interesting. I found myself rooting for her to rise above it.

Laura Frantz does an excellent job of portraying the frontier from both sides. So many authors want to portray the Native Americans as only victims or the American frontiersmen as only cruel aggressors. Frantz portrays them more realistically; the good, the bad, and the ugly. They were human and, as humans, each sector included all of the above.

I'm not giving any spoilers away, because while some of the story line was predictable, there were some interesting and intriguing twists too. It didn't end like I expected it would - in one respect - and I like being wrong when I think I know exactly what's going to happen.