The Frontiersman's Daughter

With her first book, Laura Frantz has carved herself a spot alongside the likes of Julie Lessman, Jamie Carie and Tamera Alexander. Captivated immediately by the resolute young Lael, struggling with her father's hidden past with the Shawnee Indians and her mother's indiscretion, I was entranced as the story of her fractious journey to womanhood is revealed with beautiful prose and heartfelt emotion. Lael, Captain Jack, Ian Justus and Ma Horn are multi faceted, intriguing characters as are each of the inhabitants of the small Kentucky settlement. As they face the trials and fears living on the frontier engenders, tragedies strike, feuds erupt and hearts are torn, your own emotions will run the gamut with them. Laura's attention to historical detail is excellent and sets this book apart from many in the genre. Yet it is Lael, and the man who pursues her so tenderly as she cautiously ventures towards faith and love, that truly make this a book to savour. The Frontiersman's Daughter has guaranteed Laura Frantz's future stories a place on my bookshelves!

A well researched entertaining fictional biography of the struggles of a young woman in Kentucke. It made me tired thinking of all the work they did back then, but greatful that I live now. If you at all like historical fiction this is another good read for you. The honest description of the white and native conflict was especially well-treated. And now I think I've added Kentucky on my list of places I must visit due to the beautiful descriptions of the country.

The Frontiersman's Daughter, by Laura Frantz, 2007, Revell, 412 pages. This historical Christian fiction book is set in Kentucky (as well as partially in Virginia) during the American Revolution. Frantz's protagonist, Lael, is the daughter of a well (and widely) known frontiersman who had been a captive of the Shawnees. A nearby fort is named after her father and Lael and her family take refuge there as the need arises, which is often. During her father's captivity, she was left in the care of another family at the fort and grows to care for their oldest son. This young man fails to win her father's approval. Lael finds her heart struggling when a Shawnee adopted warrior pursues her. I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed, believable, and each had a distinct voice. Ms. Frantz seamlessly weaves a treasure trove of historical information into the story. Frantz doesn't shy away from the extreme difficulties in living on the frontier but she also doesn't dwell on horrifying violent details, as some recent historical fiction books have done. Lael's journey to become a Christian is also believable. This book appeals to so many types of readers that to categorize it as historical Christian fiction with romantic elements would leave out other big chunks of the reader market. For instance, this is really a coming of age novel; granted the young woman is coming of age on the frontier in colonial times. Another recent historical (secular) novel was of a young doctor at school during the Civil war. That coming of age novel was about a very self-absorbed shallow young man who seems to change very little despite all of the differences going on all around him. In contrast, Leil is a likeable, deep, independent (while being connected to others) young woman who grows more so over the course of the novel. The male characters are so strong that a man with an interest in frontier history should be satisfied. This is not a cookie-cutter stereotypical interpretation of women and men of the colonial frontier. Ms. Frantz also does a good job of giving a more rounded picture of Native Americans during that time. I dreaded reaching the end of this book because then it would be over. It is my new favorite book and I intend to re-read it and to also get it an audio version when it becomes available. My friends and family members will be receiving copies of this book for Christmas!

I loved the different style of writing Laura Frantz did in this novel. She introduces history is such an interesting way while she is telling the story of Lael Chick. I was "hooked" by the second chapter, I'd recommend this book to those who love historical fiction. It was the first I had read on Kentucky history.