This story is a fiction novel about a girl of mixed heritage who is sent to live with her father's (Kit Carson) relatives while she waits for him to return from a trip out west. Shunned by these relatives and realizing she may have been abandoned by her father, Adaline decides to make her way to her mother's people. It is an adventure of danger, courage, and coming of age that has many layers to uncover. ( )

Inspired by a blurb about Kit Carson's daughter following a marriage with an Arapaho girl, Osborne has crafted a memorable tale of Adaline Falling Star (a blend of her Christian and Native American names) and her quest to find out how exactly a mixed-race girl like herself fits into her world. Kids will enjoy the story, particularly when she befriends a faithful mutt along the way and narrowly escapes many toils on the winding path to find her father, who she is convinced has forsaken her. Adults and teachers will enjoy the book as well, especially the magical, sparse prose and the not-too-heavy-handed treatment of the important theme of racial identity for this girl who straddles two cultures, yet fits neatly into neither, ( )

The feisty daughter of Kit Carson and an Arphano Indian woman, Adaline escapes from her insufferable cousins and travels through the wilderness (eary 1800s) ( )