Review: Through Rushing Waters by Catherine Richmond

Sophia has her life all planned out—but her plan didn’t include being jilted or ending up in Dakota Territory.
Sophia Makinoff is certain that 1876 is the year that she’ll become the wife of a certain US Congressman, and happily plans her debut into the Capitol city. But when he proposes to her roommate instead, Sophia is stunned. Hoping to flee her heartache and humiliation, she signs up with the Board of Foreign Missions on a whim.
With dreams of a romantic posting to the Far East, Sophia is dismayed to find she’s being sent to the Ponca Indian Agency in the bleak Dakota Territory. She can’t even run away effectively and begins to wonder how on earth she’ll be able to guide others as a missionary. But teaching the Ponca children provides her with a joy she has never known—and never expected—and ignites in her a passion for the people she’s sent to serve.
It’s a passion shared by the Agency carpenter, Willoughby Dunn, a man whose integrity and selflessness are unmatched. The Poncas are barely surviving. When U.S. policy decrees that they be uprooted from their land and marched hundreds of miles away in the middle of winter, Sophia and Will wade into rushing waters to fight for their friends, their love, and their destiny.

I chose Through Rushing Waters because I had read and reviewed Spring For Susannah by the same author and loved it!  You can read my review on it here.  Through Rushing Waters met and  exceeded my expectations!  I loved the story! Even though at times it is heart breaking, it is also filled with hope.  It is a historical fiction and I love the true elements of history that were woven through the story.    The author explains in her note at the end that when possible government employees were used in dialogue and that there was a Russian woman who taught at the Ponca school.  Sadly, Standing Bear's speeches are the only accounts left by a member of the tribe.   I loved the characters, especially Sophia and Will.  They are very real and believable characters and we get to see all sides of them as they and their relationship grows and develops though out the story.  As a great story should, I was transported right into the story.  I laughed, cried, and cheered a time or two (especially during one seen when a government employee got exactly what he deserved!)  You know that the story is not going to have a completely happy ending, but I did think that the ending was very well done and tied up all the loose ends.  An excellent read and I look forward to reading others by Catherine Richmond.

I received a complimentary copy of Through Rushing Waters from Thomas Nelson for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review.  I received no other compensation.