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Mar 22, 2018RebelBelle13 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This book really surprised me. I had been avoiding this title, only because I was afraid of how the author would handle Leah's gold-finding ability. I wasn't prepared for the book to be focused on her making her way across the US to California, and for it to be so historically accurate. I wasn't prepared to be so emotionally invested in Leah and her travelling companions either. I really loved Rae Carson's writing- the way she fleshed out her characters and settings brought them to life in my mind so vividly, it felt like I was on the trail myself. Carson has characters fall ill, get injured, and die. She explains each in detail. Leah pretends to be a boy, and goes into her struggles to survive as a female in 1849. It feels real- so real, in fact, that when Leah talks about her "witchy powers" and finds gold, that I completely believe it. I will most definitely be continuing on to the next. I'm not yet ready to let go of Jefferson, the Hoffmans, or Jasper and the Major, and I'm extremely curious how Leah is going to keep her powers a secret during the height of the California Gold Rush.