Distant Dreams

April 1, 1997
In a promising start to a new historical series, Pella (Blind Faith, Bethany, 1996) and Peterson (Entangled, Bethany, 1997) deliver an entertaining story with a dynamic female lead character. Carolina Adams is 15 years old in 1835, and the life of a typical woman in the South is not what she wants. She has become entranced with the new railroad, as is her tutor, James Baldwin. The two are attracted, but James bows to his family's wishes and becomes engaged to Carolina's older sister. When James breaks off the engagement to follow the railroad westward, Carolina puts their relationship in the hands of God. The ending does leave readers hanging, so expect a demand for the sequels.

September 1, 1997
YA-Andrew Jackson's presidency and accompanying intrigue form the historical setting for this novel. An almost consuming curiosity about things mechanical, and especially the new railroad, creates frequent conflicts for 15-year-old Carolina Adams. The inquisitive teen faces daily challenges from her family and peers in an age when it is feared that too much education may "cause insanity in women." Fascination for the sight, sound, and even the smell of locomotives isolates the young woman from her convention-bound mother and brings ridicule from her older, socially conscious sister. Only her father and her sister's fiance share her enthusiasm for this new iron monster and seem sympathetic to her appetite for information. Solvency of the national bank, westward expansion, and the wisdom of investing in railroad construction are at issue in this first volume of the series. Subplots include tension in gender roles, parental power, and sibling rivalry-all topics as viable in the 1990s as in the 1830s.-Janice DeLong, Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA