Probably one of the best Zane Grey books I read. More romance than anything else. Plus the writing just puts you into the scene. ( )

A good descript story of the backwoods and backwoods life. A romance brings it all to life. ( )

Although this is written as fiction, it is easy to tell that the author lived here and loved it. The descriptions of the forest never get old and you can feel yourself there. This is like reading an adult version of Little House on the Prairie. I was expecting a Western novel, and it is that, meaning it takes place in the west, Northern Arizona, to be specific. It is not so much about cowboys.
A young woman has it in her heart to do good and leaves on a mission of social welfare, employed by the state, to go into the wilderness and teach the backwoods people how to be civilized. Little does she expect that they will change her in more ways than she knows.
This could read like a romance, but it is so much more, filled with information about the pioneering days of Arizona, the conflict of "civilizing" people and "improving" them, the way we can hide the truth from ourselves and hurt others in the process. The protagonist, Lucy, would almost be annoying except for her willingness to examine herself and change and grow. There are honest portrayals of men in here too. Some bad, and some really fine men. I really enjoyed this story, can you tell? ( )