Beyond the Divide

"Beyond the Divde" is a great book, intended for mature readers. Will Simon has been shunned by his Amish community and is planning to go to California. His daughter Meribah travels with him and this is her story on the trip on the emigrant trail during the Gold Rush. They join a company and Meribah becomes friends with a rich girl name Serena Billings. This book is packed with emotion, information, and action. I guarentee that a mature reader, who enjoys or dosen't mind historical fiction, will love this book.

All Alone Have you ever had to choose between your loving father and the place you have lived for your whole life? Meribah Simon has. She lived in an Amish community her whole life, but now has left her home to search for gold with her father. On April 1,1849,Meribah and her father leave Holly Springs, Pennsylvania, to start their journey. Traveling in a covered wagon, they join the train and meet all kinds of people. Meribah becomes friends with Serena Billings, a rich girl traveling with her family. While Meribah draws, Serena paints. Not all the people are nice though. The Timm brothers are always making trouble. They meet up with some Indians but they just want to trade. One day Serena goes on a walk with Mr. Wickham. The Timm brothers go too, and something awful happens. At first no one will tell Meribah what happened and Serena will not speak to anyone. Finally Meribah realizes what happened and tries to help Serena get better. But she does not get better and one day just wanders off, never seen again. Her mother, wanting to find Serena, also leaves, never found. In August, Meribah's father gets sick. Meribah has to do most of the work, with some help from others. Then the Whitings get sick and Meribah and her father stay behind with them while the train moves on. Then the Whitings decide not to go on, so Meribah and her father move on. Finally they catch up. Then they crash and their stronger ox, Josie, dies. They are left behind to live on their own. They make home in a cave, and Will tells Meribah how to fix the wagon. Then someone comes to the rescue. It is Mr. Goodnough, an artist Meribah met in Saint Joseph. They join his wagon train and are on their way again. After awhile, Goodnough decides to stay back with Meribah because her father cannot make it. After a couple of weeks Goodnough decides to go get help. Soon after he leaves, Meribah's father dies. Meribah is alone. This book is good, but spread out too long. I think True North, another book by the same author, was better. It was more compact.

I think this book gives a lot of information about life back then. I like how it focuses on one individual's life, but also tells about the other people on the wagon train. I think that it's interesting, exciting, and would hold anyone's attention.

This book was, I admit, boring at the beginning. I had trouble staying awake through the first few chapters. As I read on though, I became more interested in the vivid storyline and began to get an image of what pioneer life was like back then. Once the book became interesting, I had trouble putting it down. I recommend this book to older children, as it does deal with some mature issues.

I read Beyond the Divide when I was 12. It is well-written and has haunted me ever since I first read it. Despite its intention for children, the book treats the hardships of pioneer life seriously and beautifully captures the coming of age of an adolescent girl. Because of the nature of some of the book's themes, I would only recommend this book for teens and above (or very mature younger readers). It is fast-paced and fascinating. Read it and you won't regret it!