When Winter Comes by V.A. Shannon
1846 Cincinnati, this story starts with a 15 year old heroine, who escapes her abusive father and trails along with hundreds of wagons heading to California; as people are lured by the stories of riches, good land with beautiful landscape and blue cloudless sky.
The journey takes them through the low and high lands, and the Great Salt Desert. Nothing is as promised. What is supposed to take a day, takes days. They “loose animals along the way, on the mountains and in the desert, and now everyone lost more to the Indians.”
When they reach the east side of Sierra Nevada mountain range, they split into two groups. One group led by Donner Party decides to take an unknown shortcut in hopes of making to California quicker as they are running out of provisions. But what lies ahead of them are treacherous mountains, which slow their progress tremendously. And the snow comes earlier than expected. They have to stay on the east side of the mountains until the snow melts.
This past time story is intertwined with the present time story, both told by the heroine, who wants to make sure that a true account of their journey is given as she hears many lies being told by other survivors. It is also interesting in a sense that it gives the past time story a flavor. As the struggle of the journey might have gotten monotonous at times, it is entwined with the information how California becomes a state and joins the Union. It also gives a sense how different life is back on the east coast. When the first pioneers struggle to make a living in California, the east coasters are fighting for women rights or northerners to abolish slavery.
I also enjoyed reading about the first immigrants in Cincinnati as well as the encounters with the Indians. All those historical accounts give the book a great flavor to this tragic story of survival.
Release Date: 10/30/18
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