Sophia Makinoff is certain that 1876 is the year that she’ll become the wife of a certain US Congressman, and happily plans her debut into the Capitol city. But when he proposes to her roommate instead, Sophia is stunned. Hoping to flee her heartache and humiliation, she signs up with the Board of Foreign Missions on a whim.

This book draws you in from the very first page - you are routing for Sophia, you are heartbroken when her original plans for marriage go wrong, and you cheer for her as she falls in love with her new life as a missionary and the people she's trying so desperately hard to protect.

It's full of heartbreak and sorrow, and you can't help but cheer for the Poncas, when something good goes there way - like shoes for the children for the winter, and you can't help but cry when they begin to starve. For me, it was difficult to read these passages because you know how badly the Native American tribes were treated and you know just how many died because of starvation, hunger, cold, disease, etc.

The story, for me, first and foremost is the story of the Poncas, a tribe I had never heard of before, but it's also the love story between Sophia and Will, another missionary bent on trying to save the small tribe.


I received a copy of this book for review through the Book Sneeze blogging for books program.