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Synopsis
Immediately following the Civil War, Billy, a fifteen-year-old runaway, sets out for the gold fields of Virginia City in treacherous Montana Territory. Good fortune for Billy is not so much about finding gold, though, as it is about finding his father. Finding the truth.Before crossing the Missouri River to embark on his journey, two cunning travelers commandeer Billy's life savings of twenty-nine dollars and two bits and convince him to join them as ox-drivers on a team headed with supply wagons for Montana. At first, being paid to make the trip doesn't sound half bad to Billy — but he quickly discovers that truth never comes cheaply.
The arduous journey tests him for all he's worth. Across miles of arid plains, wild rivers, and steep mountains, Billy struggles to tame his unruly oxen and his own dangerous passions. He must find his place among unlikely traveling companions on a trek through hostile country that conceals Chief Red Cloud's warriors as well as armed highwaymen. Billy's rite of passage challenges everything he knows about survival and loss, reconciliation and discovery.
In this vivid historical novel inspired by the real diaries of photographer William Henry Jackson, award-winning author Laurie Lawlor takes readers on a sweeping quest through the perilous old West.
Rebecca Hogue Wojahn - VOYA
Fifteen-year-old Billy has always been restless and a troublemaker because he feels that he does not fit in with his post-Civil War St. Joseph, Missouri, family. When he finds out that his mother is not his real mother, he steals his stepfather's money and heads west to Virginia City, Montana Territory, to find his real father. Almost immediately, he is tricked by swindlers Jackson and Rock into joining up with a bullwhacking team that is driving oxen along the Oregon Trail to Virginia City. Along the trail, he is let down repeatedly by the adults surrounding him, and eventually he learns, with the help of a mentor on the team, to become more self-reliant. Although this book includes fascinating and vivid details about the West and hints at the many dangers that faced travelers on the trails west, such as the conflict between Billy and the Pike County boys, most story lines never develop, leaving many dangling threads. It is further exacerbated when the plot ends abruptly, with no resolution to Billy's outer conflict of finding his father. Despite these flaws, the pure western flavor of the book will attract readers who appreciate the genre or are looking to get a sense of life in the Old West. VOYA CODES: 3Q 3P M J S (Readable without serious defects; Will appeal with pushing; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2006, Simon & Schuster, 224p., Ages 11 to 18.