Mitchell, Saundra The Springsweet

Mitchell, Saundra       The Springsweet   Houghton Mifflin/ Harcourt Brace 278p     $16.99      978-0-547-60842-6 `ms/hs      E-BN  Historical Fiction     

After the death of her fiancé, Zora Stewart goes west to Oklahoma from colonial Baltimore to help her aunt keep her homestead going after the death of her husband.  Along the way, the stagecoach is held up and she is left on the road while the driver makes an escape.  During her walk to town she is picked up by a Mr. Emerson Birch and delivered to her aunt’s homestead.

An admirer named Theo de la Croix follows her from Baltimore to West Glory. There, he becomes a schoolteacher and tries to court Zora.  However, Zora seems to have formed an attachment to Emerson.  Added to the conflict is Zora’s Aunt Birdie’s preference for one of the suitors over the other.

Aunt Birdie’s homestead is very poor.  Zora tries to earn money through her gift for finding water on settlers' land.  This ability also leads to some excitement.

This novel deals with supernatural events, love, frontier and pioneer life, and Oklahoma in the 19th century.  It will make an excellent addition to any library seeking literature on the westward expansion.

Oklahoma-Fiction, Westward Expansion-Fiction, Historical fiction, Supernatural-Fiction                -- Linda McNeil