Product Description

In this finsal novel in Mary Peace Finley's Santa Fe Trail trilogy, Julio Montoya, the hero of 'Soaring Eagle' and 'White Grizzly', looks toward Taos and home while his sister, Terisita, finds a way to follow her dreams eastward.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3224599 in Books
• Published on: 2005-01-31
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 200 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-Set in 1845 in the Mexican territory, this novel concludes Finley's "Santa Fe Trail Trilogy." Teresita Montoya, 13, is determined to accompany her father and brother, Julio, when they leave Taos for Bent's Fort. She longs for a more fulfilling life than what she sees around her and doesn't want to marry and have many babies like her mother. Nevertheless, Papá refuses to take her along. Later on, she has a vision that leads her to believe that he and Julio are in danger and she convinces her uncle to take her to the fort to see if they need help. Teresita's excessive courage and curiosity enliven the ensuing, sometimes wooden, story. Her journeys through desolate country, her decision to stay at the fort after her uncle leaves, her capture by Indians, and her experiences on the wagon train along the Sante Fe Trail add interest to the predictable plot. Finley creates a solid historical framework with geographical references to famous landmarks, as well as with descriptions of day-to-day life. Detailed endnotes add more background. Unfortunately, the glossary is inadequate and not all of the Spanish words and phrases used in the book are clear in context. Buy this title where the first two books are popular.--Susan Cooley, formerly at Tower Hill School, Wilmington, DE
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 5-8. In 1845, 13-year-old Teresita Montoya leaves her home in Mexico to join a wagon train journeying east on the Santa Fe Trail. She wants to find her missing older brother and also a life for herself beyond that of her bitter mother trapped at home. The tough young woman has all kinds of adventures, including capture by a band of Kiowa and a daring escape. Mostly, however, she survives through hard daily work, and in the end she finds herself part of a community that includes Mexican, American, Cheyenne, and Kiowa. The plot lurches with coincidence as Teresita struggles through her trials and escapes, and at times the exhaustive research gets in the way of the story. But many characters, especially the women, are drawn with realism, from angry Mama to Teresita's rich Spanish mentor, who though racist and elitist, teaches Teresita to read and inspires her to attend school and become a teacher. This title is the last in Finley's Santa Fe Trail trilogy, which began with Soaring Eagle (1993) and White Grizzly (2000). Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Gr. 5-8. In 1845, 13-year-old Teresita Montoya leaves her home in Mexico to join a wagon train journeying east on the Santa Fe Trail. She wants to find her missing older brother and also a life for herself beyond that of her bitter mother trapped at home. The tough young woman has all kinds of adventures, including capture by a band of Kiowa and a daring escape. Mostly, however, she survives through hard daily work, and in the end she finds herself part of a community that includes Mexican, American, Cheyenne, and Kiowa. The plot lurches with coincidence as Teresita struggles through her trials and escapes, and at times the exhaustive research gets in the way of the story. But many characters, especially the women, are drawn with realism, from angry Mama to Teresita's rich Spanish mentor, who though racist and elitist, teaches Teresita to read and inspires her to attend school and become a teacher. This title is the last in Finley's Santa Fe Trail trilogy, which began with Soaring Eagle (1993) and White Grizzly (2000). Hazel Rochman --Booklist

Grade 5-8-Set in 1845 in the Mexican territory, this novel concludes Finley's "Santa Fe Trail Trilogy." Teresita Montoya, 13, is determined to accompany her father and brother, Julio, when they leave Taos for Bent's Fort. She longs for a more fulfilling life than what she sees around her and doesn't want to marry and have many babies like her mother. Nevertheless, Papá refuses to take her along. Later on, she has a vision that leads her to believe that he and Julio are in danger and she convinces her uncle to take her to the fort to see if they need help. Teresita's excessive courage and curiosity enliven the ensuing, sometimes wooden, story. Her journeys through desolate country, her decision to stay at the fort after her uncle leaves, her capture by Indians, and her experiences on the wagon train along the Sante Fe Trail add interest to the predictable plot. Finley creates a solid historical framework with geographical references to famous landmarks, as well as with descriptions of day-to-day life. Detailed endnotes add more background. Unfortunately, the glossary is inadequate and not all of the Spanish words and phrases used in the book are clear in context. Buy this title where the first two books are popular.--Susan Cooley, formerly at Tower Hill School, Wilmington, DE --School Library Journal