"Many Sparrows" by Lori Benton

 


The Ohio-Kentucky frontier was a fierce and often frightening place to be in 1774. Clare Inglesby is reluctantly traveling west with her adventure-seeking husband when tragedy strikes. Philip is killed, their four-year-old son Jacob disappears, and she is left alone in the wilderness with a brand new baby. Determined to find Jacob no matter the odds, Clare is forced to depend on the kindness of one man to escort her into the foreign world of the native Indians.

Jeremiah Ring has a past full of mystery and is now able to fully blend in with either Indian or white man. He can't abandon Clare after he finds her in the middle of the woods, not when he may be the only one who can help her. Especially not once he realizes that his Indian family may be the key to discovering Jacob's whereabouts.

I have heard so many good things about Lori Benton's books! While I love historical fiction, I must admit I'm most drawn to nineteenth and twentieth century tales, so the intense wilderness theme and strong Native American plotline did not engage me as it might other readers. Another thing that detracted from the novel for me was the fact that the author took so long in spelling out the characters' backstories that I felt like I did not know them, and had stopped caring by the time the revelation came. I also could not relate to Clare at all. My favorite relationship within the story was Jeremiah's devotion to baby Pippa, which I felt was sadly under-utilized.

This novel is a deep well of loss, pain, fighting, determination, and learning to trust God and others when everything in life is beyond our control. I can see why its depth would speak to many.  Due to how interested I became in some of the minor characters I will definitely be reading more of this author's work in the future.

I received my copy of the book from LitFuse Publicity. All opinions in this review are my own. If you would like to see what other people are saying about "Many Sparrows," click here.