Brilliantly written, this is a compelling tale of a family on the Oregan trail. I love a book that teaches you new and this is no exception. Here we learn what motivated these people to travel so far to start a new life and the challenges they faced. At times a heartbreaking tale it is also a valuable lesson in the importance of strong values. ( )

Overall I was disappointed in this book. After the first few chapters, I felt it lacked depth and I hoped as the story progress, the promise of excitement and adventure would be realised, but it was not to be. The story of the pioneering women travelling with their husbands and families in wagon trains to the western side of America (the Oregon trail) should have been a powerful story involving drama, tragedy and danger. Whilst these events did occur it seemed to me as if they were skimmed over when they could have been developed into something really exciting.

The author has said that this was her tribute to these brave women, but I am afraid, in my opinion, she has failed them.

It was an easy read, probably too easy, but I did not think using the main female characters’ journals worked well, because there was no real cohesion between them. I seemed as if it was written as a script for a film and I note the author is a scriptwriter.

Obviously I will not reveal the ending, but to me it was a disappointment. My reaction was “well why go through all that” . ( )