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A review by arguhlincozzi
Charlotte's Rose by Ann Edwards Cannon
5.0
The first time I read this book, I was in the 4th grade, lying in a hospital bed, recovering from a particularly acute case of appendicitis. The recovery time was long, the time in the hospital punctuated by a lot of pain in different parts of my body, and not great food. BUT- there was this book.
It was a gift from a co-worker of my father, and that meant it was A NEW BOOK. Being someone who read voraciously meant that every new book was a call for celebration. They weren't always easy to come by, books that were new and belonged to me. I needed a lot of rest, so a book that would have taken me 2 days to read took me a week of recovery time, and I spent a lot of time alongside Charlotte as she cared for Rose and observed the difficulties of the trail to Zion.
This book, in comparison to 'Bound For Oregon', which I recently reviewed, is a far less preachy and much more nuanced perspective of the settlement period in the United States, and the Native American reaction to it. Charlotte is a Welsh immigrant, escaping the oppressive English governance. While she also reacts with fear initially to Native Americans in one encounter, she later comes to view them as the saviors of their party, when they arrive in the middle of the trail, as the only opportunity to trade for food, and also the providers of what they are able to trade in the first place.
The Mormon perspective on religion, Zion, and how they are received by Christians is taken here, but not in a way that's meant to convert. This is clearly a historical fiction, showing the strong beliefs of this group, the strength and joy their faith offers them, and the resulting culture they cherish. The emotional maturity and complexity shown in this book as we watch Charlotte grow up as she travels and cares for Rose touches me each time I read this book, and the guidance she receives from various adults, the open opportunity she has to mourn her mother with her father, and her ability to carry on in the face of everything, I think, gave me strength when I first read it, and gives me strength even now.
It was a gift from a co-worker of my father, and that meant it was A NEW BOOK. Being someone who read voraciously meant that every new book was a call for celebration. They weren't always easy to come by, books that were new and belonged to me. I needed a lot of rest, so a book that would have taken me 2 days to read took me a week of recovery time, and I spent a lot of time alongside Charlotte as she cared for Rose and observed the difficulties of the trail to Zion.
This book, in comparison to 'Bound For Oregon', which I recently reviewed, is a far less preachy and much more nuanced perspective of the settlement period in the United States, and the Native American reaction to it. Charlotte is a Welsh immigrant, escaping the oppressive English governance. While she also reacts with fear initially to Native Americans in one encounter, she later comes to view them as the saviors of their party, when they arrive in the middle of the trail, as the only opportunity to trade for food, and also the providers of what they are able to trade in the first place.
The Mormon perspective on religion, Zion, and how they are received by Christians is taken here, but not in a way that's meant to convert. This is clearly a historical fiction, showing the strong beliefs of this group, the strength and joy their faith offers them, and the resulting culture they cherish. The emotional maturity and complexity shown in this book as we watch Charlotte grow up as she travels and cares for Rose touches me each time I read this book, and the guidance she receives from various adults, the open opportunity she has to mourn her mother with her father, and her ability to carry on in the face of everything, I think, gave me strength when I first read it, and gives me strength even now.