Disingenuous of Amazon to simultaneously have for sale a paid and free edition of the same book especially when you have to scroll down to find the free edition. Since 12-year-old Michael is orphaned and isolated from other human contact for 6 years in hostile Indian Territory during pre-settlement times the story needs-must be told from his point of view at least in the opening chapters. But as others have complained the writing style is highly clinical much as one would expect if one were reading about a modern-day atrocity in the New York Times or Wall Street Journal. The author reports that a 12-year-old boy witnessed the murder of both his parents and their wagon train party, felt 18-year-old lust when he meets his first pretty Indian Girl, and precedes with the revenge killing of the four braves who butchered his parents with little or no emotional involvement in the experience. This detachment from his own life leaves the reader feeling detached as well. It is difficult to believe that anyone, especially a 12-year-old, could survive 6 years of solitary confinement without irreparable emotional harm. The only literary equivalent would be Ayla in Clan of the Cave Bears. As the book progresses it becomes more a typical Western Oater with certain striking similarities to Carmac McCarthy’s Border Trilogy. The story has an all too typical happily ever after Hollywood ending. This book was okay for a young adult. It was rather repetitious, it made me look back to see if my pages had flipped, but no. The author just repeated details. The main character was unbelievable. His parents were killed in an Indian attack when he was twelve, yet he later credits his father with designing a hidden compartment in a wagon for valuables and a method for turning the wagon into a fortress if attacked, however, they were traveling to Santa Fe, New mexico without these improvements. He cfredits his father for teaching him a million skills, not to mention ethics which are of the highest degree. The vocabulary is simple. It is full of adventures and moral lessons. There is a sequel, Puma Son of Mountain Lion. I think I will skip it.
What do You think about Sagebrush (2010)?
This was a quick read without much commitment for the reader, very predictable.
—Cutekittykat
An interesting story that keeps you interested.
—techieinpink
