The Springsweet by Saundra Mitchell
Pages: 288
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Genre: YA Historical
Expected publication: April 17th 2012
It’s a long way from Baltimore to Oklahoma Territory. But Zora Stewart will go any distance to put the tragic events of her sixteenth summer behind her. So this city girl heads to the tiny frontier town of West Glory to help her young widowed aunt keep her homestead going.
When another Baltimorean shows up in West Glory, Zora couldn’t be more surprised. Theo de la Croix made the long trip out west hoping to court Zora, whom he has long admired from afar.
But Zora has developed an attraction to a rather less respectable fellow: Emerson Birch, a rough-mannered young "sooner" whose fertile land is coveted.
As Zora begins to suspect that there may be more than luck behind Emerson’s good land, she discovers an extraordinary, astonishing power of her own: the ability to sense water under the parched earth. When her aunt hires her out as a "springsweet" to advise other settlers where to dig their wells, Zora feels the burden of holding the key to something so essential to survival in this unforgiving land.
Even more, she finds herself longing for love the way the prairie thirsts for water. Maybe, in the wildness of the territories, Zora can finally move beyond simply surviving and start living.
Brodie needs MORE historical in her book diet and this sounds like a perfect fit! And the plot itself and her ability to sense water is intriguing. Plus, pretty cover! Awesome pick, Ashley!
ReplyDeleteI haven't been reading much YA historical fiction, and I think I'm going to need to change that. This one sounds really good. I love the cover! Great review.
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