BOSTON JANE

It’s now several months since Boston Jane (Boston Jane: An Adventure, 2001) arrived in Shoalwater Bay, Washington Territory, having traveled from proper Philadelphia to marry William and having found William married to another. She’s no longer puking on board during the long voyage and is resolved to try life on the rough frontier without a chaperone. What Jane needs, though, is more than the ability to bake pies and sew. She just doesn’t see that Jehu of the deep blue eyes loves her or that Mr. Russell of the flea-infested, tobacco-stained wardrobe cares so much about her well-being. And she doesn’t see that the well-dressed, polite Mr. Black, who arrives one morning at the settlement, is a dangerous killer out for revenge against Mr. Russell. Mourning the death of her dear sweet Papa, she resolves to board the next boat for a return trip to Philadelphia. At the very last moment, she turns back and runs after Jehu and Keer-ukso, one of the neighboring Chinook, who have set out to warn Mr. Russell that his life is in danger. He’s gone to a rendezvous between the whites who want all the Indians on a reservation and the Indians who want to continue living on their ancestral homeland. What follows for Jane, Jehu, and Keer-ukso is a perilous trip on water and land, with a snowstorm thrown in for good measure. There’s an exciting combination of danger, humor, misunderstandings, first kisses, and a growing awareness of the goodness of those who happily will be Jane’s territorial neighbors. She won’t return to Philadelphia. True love is here, and proper Miss Sally Biddle of the perfect blond corkscrew curls has arrived from Philadelphia. More to come? We can only hope that the endearing and occasionally improbable adventures of Boston Jane, with their nicely blended mix of real events and characters inspired by actual pioneers, will continue. (Fiction. 10-14)