They were a family tied together by life and by love: Nathaniel Bonner; his wife Elizabeth; and their children, Luke, Hannah, Lily, Daniel, and young Gabriel. But like most families of the time, theirs also included extended family members: Jennet, the cousin from Scotland; Many-Doves and Runs-From-Bears, the aunt and uncle from the Mohawk tribe; Blue-Jay and Annie, the Mohawk cousins. Each was connected to the other by more than the blood they shared. Luke, the eldest son, had made a name for himself in Montreal. Hannah, the eldest daughter, had married a Mohawk warrior named Strikes-the-Sky, and was also known as Walking-Woman. When her husband and young son died, Hannah returned to her family to heal. Lily and Daniel, the twins, had reached an age when they were going separate ways--Daniel off to war, against everyone's heartfelt objections; and Lily, off to Montreal to study art. Jennet, having been in love with Luke for what seemed like forever, had finally come home to bring him to his senses!

While in Montreal, Luke's business partner, Simon Ballentyne, swept Lily off her feet. Sleigh rides and stolen kisses led to one passionate night where Simon declared he would do everything in his power to convince Lily to marry him--even if it meant getting her with child. Lily, not knowing how to reconcile the artistic life she dreamed of with a life with Simon, succumbed to his caresses, knowing only that she had to have Simon in her life.

Receiving disturbing news that Daniel and Blue-Jay had been seriously wounded in the war, Hannah and Jennet went to take care of them in the stockade. Hannah had been a trained physician, and no one knew more than she did how to care for her brother. What no one expected, but everyone hoped, was for the experience to do so much to heal her broken spirit. At the same time, Luke finally realized just what Jennet meant to him. When she was kidnapped by a man masquerading as a priest, Luke would stop at nothing to get her back.

FIRE ALONG THE SKY is a wonderful look at history, and the many ways families helped each other out. It also illustrates how a small town grows around its inhabitants, and embraces them all as family. The multitude of characters gave this novel so much depth and emotion. Watching them interact with each other, and care for each other in the town, was enchantingly nostalgic.

FIRE ALONG THE SKY is not a novel that you can pick up and be done with in two hours. But it's definitely worth the commitment it takes to read from cover to cover! I look forward to more from Sara Donati!

Reviewed by Tracy Atencio
© October 2004