My first Laura Frantz book was her seventh, and I’ve been curious to read her debut novel ever since. It can be interesting to see where that author “started” and it can lead to a greater appreciation of where they are now. Such was the case with Laura Frantz’s 2009 debut, The Frontiersman’s Daughter. Filled with her same blatant love of history, for the Kentucke she describes so well, and characters who endure through strength, will, and faith.
It took me some time to grow a fondness for the main character, Lael Click, partly due to her naivete over her love interests. Headstrong, stubborn, impulsive, and not given to thinking things through, Lael Click matures from a thirteen year old to a young woman, suffering loss and hardships, going to school in the east and learning to be a healer in the Kentucke frontier of the late 18th century, her eyes are slowly opened to the love of God.
For fans of Laura Frantz curious about her debut, The Frontiersman’s Daughter is well worth the read.
This review refers to a purchased copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
About the Book
One woman searches for love–and herself–in a wild land.
Lovely and high-spirited, Lael Click is the daughter of a celebrated frontiersman. Haunted by her father’s ties to the Shawnee Indians and her family’s past, Lael comes of age in the fragile Kentucky settlement her father founded. As she faces the many trials of life on the frontier, Lael draws strength from the rugged land. But the arrival of a handsome doctor threatens her view of her world, her God, and herself. Can the power of grace and redemption break through in this tumultuous place?
This epic novel gives you a glimpse into the simple yet daring lives of the pioneers who first crossed the Appalachians, all through the courageous eyes of a determined young woman who would not be defeated.
The Frontiersman’s Daughter by Laura Frantz | Revell, 2009 | paperback, 416 pages
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