Where the Lost Wander

Ahhh the sense of PLACE in this story is astoundingly well done. Remarkable, really, how Harmon makes you feel as though you're there in the story. Not a reader, not even a fly on the wall - immersed in the world, feeling that nostalgic sense for a time you've never actually lived in. As a reader, you follow people making their way from the Oregon trail to California (though, again, I say “reader” but I felt more like I was actually THERE, traveling with them). John and Naomi are wonderfully written characters with the layers I like to see and historical relevance (John is half Pawnee but has an English father), and Naomi is a young 20 something widow. There's something I really admire about books that contain relevance, yet to a time I don't live in. The same way stories about racism or sexism or struggling with identity feel relevant today, these stories feel relevant despite the fact that they were not written in that time. The romance was very organic and believable (i.e. restraining emotions, not being able to express themselves freely), and the other characters weren't merely in the background - they contributed. On top of that all, the book itself is haunting and beautiful all in one.

Books like these - the complex, deep, and eloquent kind - make me do a little happy dance when I finish.

Another superb read from Amy Harmon. I have such a hard time writing reviews for her books because I am often speechless by the end of them and I know that nothing I can say can possibly do her words justice. I love so many things about her writing. The details she gives. The research she must do in order to write historical books like this. How well developed her characters always are, even her side characters. How clearly I can picture every setting in my head as I read. I did not expect that I would ever enjoy a book set in the 1850s, yet here we are. I am positive Amy Harmon could write a book on any topic or genre at this point and I would love it.

Where the Lost Wander is a beautiful yet heartbreaking story of the May family and their journey across the Oregon Trail in the 1850s. Naomi is the eldest child and only daughter of her family. When she meets John Lowry, the man hired to guide her family's wagon train, she is immediately captivated by him. John feels the same instant connection to Naomi, however his half-Pawnee heritage leaves him believing that he is not worthy of her love. Their romance slowly develops amid the harsh conditions of the trail. Prejudice, illness, even death are hardships they must overcome and the way they do is inspiring. While their story was difficult to read at times, I was not ready for it to come to an end.


Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this ARC.