Dawn on a Distant Shore

Summary (from the publisher): Elizabeth and Nathaniel Bonner have settled into their life together at the edge of the New-York wilderness in the winter of 1794. But soon after Elizabeth gives birth to healthy twins, Nathaniel learns that his father has been arrested in British Canada. Forced to leave Hidden Wolf Mountain to help his father in Montreal, Nathaniel himself is imprisoned and in danger of being hanged as a spy. In a desperate bid to save her husband, Elizabeth bundles her infants and sets out through the snowy wilderness and across treacherous waterways on the dangerous trek to Canada. But she soon discovers that freeing her husband will take every ounce of her courage and inventiveness - and will threaten her with the loss of what she loves most: her children. Torn apart, the Bonners must embark on yet another perilous voyage: this time all the way across the ocean to the heart of Scotland, where a destiny they could never have imagined awaits them.

 

Review: This novel continues the story begun in Into the Wilderness. Elizabeth and Nathaniel Bonner are happily married and living at Lake in the Clouds with Nathaniel's half-Native American daughter Hannah. But soon after Elizabeth gives birth to twins Daniel and Lily, Nathaniel must travel to rescue his father in Montreal. Nathaniel winds up imprisoned and under threat of being hanged as a spy. In response, Elizabeth takes all three children on the road to try to save her husband's life. After being reunited, they hope to travel back home but instead find themselves duped into a journey to Scotland.

 

It has been over two years since I read the first book in this series, and I was worried that I wouldn't remember enough to be able to follow along. However, it wasn't an issue. This series still reminds me greatly of Outlander by Diana Gabaldo, but without the time travel or deeply endearing characters. The plot of this novel, while enjoyable and creating suspense, is far fetched. It seems unlikely that anyone would kidnap the Bonners, killing men in the process, only to have the issue resolve so quietly in the end of the book - thanks to the appearance of yet another illegitimate child of Nathaniel's.

 

Some of the scenes seemed fairly ridiculous, such as when Curiosity, along for the journey to care for the young twins, attacks a Redcoat with a live puffin: "The bigger redcoat made a grab for him but Curiosity still had the bird by the feet and she swung it in his face like a battle-axe" (403). (Somehow the bird survives this ordeal.) Or when Nathaniel spies on the dinner party Giselle is hosting through convenient spy holes in the wall: "Candlelight came to them in four perfectly round streams, and the interwoven voices separated themselves into five or six distinct conversations" (56).

 

This novel does improve on the first novel in that the reader can begin to see a real connection between Nathaniel and Elizabeth, after their seemingly abrupt union in the first book. Additionally, I enjoyed the element of including Hannah so prominently in the storyline, as she faces very real threats and discrimination as a minority during a time when Native Americans were certainly viewed with suspicion and distrust. It's interesting seeing her navigate the world of both America but also Scotland. In many ways, Hannah felt like the most fully developed character in this novel and I assume that future books in this series will spend even more time delving into her experiences.

 

Stars: 3