Carolina's Courage

This was another enjoyable and informative book by this author! In Carolina's Courage we follow a pioneer family on their journey west I appreciate that varying perspectives were offered in this story the father who wants a farm free from rocks and endless toil the mother who follows his leading but feels the loss of her home and especially Carolina as she faces this adventure with courage Our family enjoys this author's books as read-alouds They tend to be quick reads and indeed we actually finished this book in one evening This is due more to the "can't put it down" nature of this book than its length I particularly enjoy this author's style of historical fiction I feel that we are given a realistic look at the historical period presented while still enjoying a riveting story This story did not delve as deeply into topics of faith as we have seen in previous books by Elizabeth Yates other than the sheer faith a family must have to make such a drastic change in home and lifestyle Even so it was a pleasant story and I found myself moved at the end My husband had trouble relating to the father who would uproot his family in such a way but admits that he knows this happened often in our nation's history and that these men must have had sufficient reasons in their minds to do so My daughter was obviously struggling and feeling torn during the story as she had compassion for Carolina and the decisions she faced Although both found themselves uncomfortable during some parts of this story because of these issues they did say that they enjoyed it in the end It was not my favorite Yates book but I can recommend it as a nice addition to a study of westward expansion or for those who are interested in this time period