Treasured Grace by Tracie Peterson Series: Heart of the Frontier #1
Published by Bethany House on February 28th 2017
Genres: Christian, Fiction, Historical, Romance
Pages: 320
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Tracie Peterson Begins Compelling New Series Set on the 1840s FrontierGrace Martindale has known more than her share of hardship. After her parents died, raising her two younger sisters became her responsibility. A hasty marriage to a minister who is heading to the untamed West seemed like an opportunity for a fresh start, but a cholera outbreak along the wagon trail has left Grace a widow in a very precarious position.
Having learned natural remedies and midwifery from her mother, Grace seeks an opportunity to use her skills for the benefit of others. So when she and her sisters arrive at the Whitman mission in "Oregon Country," she decides to stay rather than push on.
With the help of Alex Armistead, a French-American fur trapper, Grace begins to provide care for her neighbors, including some of the native populace. But not everyone welcomes her skills--or her presence--and soon Grace finds herself and those she loves in more danger than she imagined possible.
Before I start this review there is a disclaimer I need to share with you. This is a book of historical fiction, I mean how many of us played Oregon Trail with the old school floppy disks (literally floppy) on a green screen computer. That is this book, sorta, the settling of Oregon Territory and the path to get there. This book is not an old school video game with green ducks and greener tomb stones. This book is about the real life tensions between the ‘Boston Men’ (or whites) settling near the Native’s (Indians). This is a book about a young widow and her sister’s who stay on a the mission due to a measles outbreak on their wagon train. There is violence, the murder of individuals at the mission as tensions run high between the two groups due in part to the many deaths from measles, and while not graphic is not subtle either. There is sexual assault (spoiler!) that leads to pregnancy. There is talk of rape and the desire to end a pregnancy. This book is not graphic but it’s also not subtle. Our history is not subtle either. I know that some readers may not be comfortable with some of these topics and I would not do my due diligence if I did not disclaimer this. However, even in Christian Fiction there has to be truth. These things really did happen. They are part of our historical truth and they are opportunities for growth and learning and strengthening of faith.
There were a couple of hiccups in this book for me. I’m going to start with Grace. Grace did not lend herself to being a character that I could relate too or really care for. She felt overbearing and bossy. I mean I get it, after the death of her parents she became responsible for her sisters. She married for convenience to the Right Revered Martindale. I’m not even certain he had a first name, maybe Right Revered was his given name? Who goes by that all the time? Pretentious! He needed a wife to gain the mission field, she needed a new start and help getting them to her uncle in Oregon City. He died on the trail before the book started so . . . Still, she felt more structure and rules than someone who would offer a hug or be a gentle shoulder to cry on. Hope was alternate with pout-y and wounded. I mean I get it but it fell flat for me. These characters lacked a depth that would have gone a long way toward building the story. Even the conflict, drama, and emotions missed some little something that would have brought this story to life for me. Depth. I needed depth.
However, despite the flatness of the characters and the drama this book did hit a few right things for me. I appreciate the detail that was apparent in research by the author. While I would have appreciated research notes or even some reference points, you could tell there was effort there. I also appreciated that there was a depth of scripture and spirituality. It wasn’t detracting from the greater story and actually added to the story. From a Christian Fiction standpoint this is huge. When scripture and to some degree theology is used in a book there is a balance. Sometimes those things actually detract from the greater story which the detracts from the stronger Christian take-away for the book. Peterson handled this smoothly so that these things built the story. It’s a fine line and I love that it was handled amazingly!
About Tracie Peterson
Tracie Peterson is a bestselling author who writes in both historical and contemporary genres. Her novels reveal her love for research as well as her strong desire to develop emotionally meaningful characters and stories for her readers. Tracie and her family live in Montana.
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