Sandy M’s review of Wagon Train Cinderella by Shirley Kennedy
Historical Western Romance published by Lyrical Press 3 Feb 15
While I like the American history in this book – a history I’ve learned more about the last few years due to my new-found genealogical passion – I feel let down with nearly every other aspect of this story. The biggest problem is the writing. Ms. Kennedy just doesn’t have the finish, the polish it takes to draw a reader in and keep them turning pages.
Callie and her adoptive family are making the rigorous trip across the Overland Trail to California. I’ve heard two different speakers talk about this journey in our history, and Ms. Kennedy does get the danger and adventure down pat that this trek held for every person who took it. Even the last-minute, desperate decisions those in charge make after months of arduous living are done quite well. That’s why it’s a puzzle that the rest of the story reads like something a high schooler would write.
The romance is actually secondary to the history lesson. Callie is basically a slave to her family, pa and ma and two stepsisters; thus, the Cinderella nickname the hero, Luke, gives her. There’s very few scenes between Luke and Callie after they meet – which is actually a darned good scene – so when they finally realize any feelings for one another, including making love, it’s just not enough to make it believable. It would have been better to have them thrown together by a compromising position and then have love flare between them. At least that would make more sense. Near the end Luke comes back from the dead, but there’s hardly any emotion at all on Callie’s part to find him alive. If you’re going to give me a romance, then give it to me.
The relationships Callie forges with other members of the wagon train are much more interesting. Even the circumstances with her so-called parents has more emotion involved. You feel her heartbreak at being treated so horribly by her entire family. Eventually Callie also grows a backbone, stands up to her parents and the leader of the wagon train, who goes through several transitions during the journey depending on the situation. Her friendship with Florida is a good one, the first true female friend Callie’s had. However, we’re mostly told about these relationships, not shown. Descriptions are awkward, dialogue is simplistic. The only depth in the story comes from the historical research the author has done.
Flying colors to Ms. Kennedy for that research, though. Fear of Indians, burying too many folks along the way, driving wagons up narrow paths with a steep drop on one side, trekking through bone-numbing snow, and so much more are all what bring out the emotion in both characters and reader. It’s not the romantic, in-love emotion we expect, but for what it’s worth, it works in this respect.
Grade: C-
Summary:
Love can lead you out of the wilderness…
1851, Overland Trail to California. As a baby, Callie was left on the doorstep of an isolated farmhouse in Tennessee. The Whitaker family took her in, but have always considered her more a servant than a daughter. Scorned by her two stepsisters, Callie is forced to work long hours and denied an education. But a new world opens to her when the Whitakers join a wagon train to California—guided by rugged Luke McGraw…
A loner, haunted by a painful past, Luke plans to return to the wilderness once his work is done. But he can’t help noticing how poorly Callie is treated—or how unaware she is of her beauty and intelligence. As the two become closer over the long trek west, Callie’s confidence grows. And when disaster strikes, Callie emerges as the strong one—and the woman Luke may find the courage to love at last…
No excerpt available.
