Feb 18, 2015GLNovak rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I liked this book, but dreaded finishing because I thought something bad and sad was going to happen. I was partly right. The story is narrated by 11-year-old Reuben who suffers from asthma. His widower father cares for him, his 16-year-old brother Davy and 9-year-old sister Swede. This is not an ordinary family. Reuben has secretly observed his dad performing miracles while talking to God, and his sister is obsessed with the wild west hero gangsters like Butch Cassidy, Jesse James and the Younger boys. She is an excellent verse writer and has embarked on a long epic about hero Sundown and his nemesis Vargas, portions of which Reuben shares with us readers. The beautiful writing carried me along through chapter after chapter following the family's journey west trying to guess Davy's track after he killed two men and fled. Seeing all the action through Reuben's young understanding was refreshing and reminiscent for me of 'True Grit'. This whole tale brings up questions about right and wrong, the power of faith, the value of self-reliance, the strength of family, love,and loyalty - I guess all the good stuff. The story is set in the dead of winter in the Dakotas and the word pictures of the cold, the snow, the freezing temperatures made me put on a sweater.
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Peace Like a River