A Reader's Opinion: FLEEING THE SHADOWS by Phyllis A. Still
A READER'S OPINION
FLEEING THE SHADOWS follows fast in the footsteps of 2016’s Defiance on Indian Creek, which was Book One of the Dangerous Loyalties historical fiction series from Phyllis A. Still. It continues the adolescent years of Mary Shirley, oldest child of the Shirley family that have recently left their home and farm in Western Virginia to travel to Kentucky where her father wants to escape the British Army and lay claim to land in the new territory. To get there, they have to travel alone, by horseback and by foot on a dangerous trail where danger lurks in the shadows: Indians, wild animals and those who want to turn Mary’s father over to the British authorities.
As with Defiance on Indian Creek, Ms. Still has penned a fast-moving, historically accurate account of pioneer life, this time on the trail to a new life that is expected to be more peaceful than their life in Virginia where loyalties were becoming torn between British and American, Natives and settlers, Blacks and Whites. There are other issues that young Mary now has to face: the stirrings of fascinations she feels for the young men she meets (not all of them honorable, she soon discovers), the realities of life inside the forts along the trail where women are discriminated against and justice is swiftly carried out for those that violate the law. All of this is discovered through the eyes of Mary, who is maturing quickly as she helps her pregnant mother and younger siblings endure the rigors of the trail.
Wholly enjoyable, and quite intense and shocking at times (the author herself recommends readers be over the age of thirteen) this is a historical series to take note of and one I definitely want to keep following.
Rating: 3 1/2 Stars | Content Rating: 1 Hearts | Reviewed by: James Fisher
PG-13: Non-Descriptive Sex; Some Violence
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BOOK SYNOPSIS
She blames herself for the bounty on Papa's head. Book Two in the Dangerous Loyalties series—a historical novel for teens--continues the riveting story of Daughters of the American Revolution patriot Mary Shirley McGuire.
It's late summer in the Alleghany Highlands, 1775. Colonial Virginia has resolved to support the American Revolutionary cause for liberty. The British are determined to retain control of the fur trade and keep frontiersmen fighting Indians instead of joining the Continentals.
Thirteen-year-old Mary Shirley is still recovering from emotional wounds inflicted when she risked her life delivering traitorous dispatches. She trusted the wrong men, and now the family must flee Indian Creek to stay ahead of British Loyalist who seek her papa's life.
But they can't risk being captured by taking the main road to Daniel Boone's trail that leads into Kentucky territory. They must endure the more dangerous and grueling hunter's path that leads to rough frontier forts along the Clinch River.
Genre: Historical Fiction/Young Adult (13+) | Pub Date: June 6, 2017 | Page count: 212pp
Publisher: White Bird Publications | Format Read: E-Book | Source: Provided by the author or publisher
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