Reviewed by Brenda Casto for Readers' Favorite

This book starts out in Connecticut in 1876. When the Pettigrew family home burns to the ground, James Pettigrew decides the best thing for his family is to move to the Idaho territory. While the oldest son, Lewis, hates to leave because their mother is buried in Connecticut, the other children, Sarah Jane and Edwin, don't even remember their mother. The family heads for Cincinnati where they plan on joining up with a wagon train headed west; but when tragedy strikes and James, Lewis and Edwin drown in the Ohio River, the wagon master tells Sarah that she can't travel with the wagon train. Sarah doesn't let that stop her; she decides to travel by train, sells her families supplies and heads west. Unafraid of hard work, Sarah Jane is determined to fulfill her father’s dream.

I liked the premise of this story. Sarah Jane was a very determined young lady who saw a lot of tragedy early on in the story. Losing what was left of her family when they drowned had to be heart wrenching, and since she had no family left, I could understand why she might want to head on to Idaho. Once she arrived in Idaho the story lost some of its realism. Things seemed to fall into place a little too easily when she arrived at her homestead, but it didn't stop me from enjoying this entertaining tale.

I also felt that the story could have used a little editing...not much, but there were a few errors. I look forward to reading more books by this author.