Official Review: Spirit Dancer by Cissy Hunt

[DancingLady]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Spirit Dancer" by Cissy Hunt.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Spirit Dancer by Cissy Hunt is a Christian historical fiction novel. In the early 1800s, Hannah is a 17-year-old newlywed. Her husband Caswell receives a letter from his uncle inviting them to join him in California. 21-year-old Caswell believes God is calling them to go west and begins making preparations. As they pack up their wagons for the long journey, Hannah is less than enthusiastic about leaving her family, friends, and everything she has ever known. They leave their home in Alabama with several other families to join a wagon train in Independence, Missouri. The dangers of this journey become clear before they even reach Missouri. When the group is caught in a severe spring storm, the livestock stampede and tragedy strikes.

On reaching Independence, they join a wagon train and begin the long journey across the plains. Not long into the months-long trip, Caswell becomes seriously ill. Fearing he may have Typhoid, the leaders of the wagon train make the decision to leave Hannah and Caswell's wagons behind to protect the rest of the train from a possible epidemic. Hannah is left with her sick husband, Alex, the driver of their second wagon, and her friend Lisa, who volunteers to stay behind and help her. Unexpectedly, Painted Hands, a white man raised among Indians, also volunteers to stay. His skills and knowledge prove invaluable. Painted Hands brings them to a local tribe of Native Americans who are able to discover the cause of Caswell's illness and save his life. As they winter with the tribe, it becomes clear that God directed them here for a purpose. It is here that Hannah, now also a new mother, receives the name Spirit Dancer.

I have had a long fascination with stories of the Oregon trail as I grew up only a few miles from Oregon City. Because my paternal grandparents were from Nebraska, where Hannah and Caswell ultimately choose to homestead, this story was very special to me. I loved seeing Hannah's journey of developing a deep trust in God's sovereignty and direction over her and her family's lives. Her experiences on the trail were very realistic and her response to the hardships they faced seemed natural. I also appreciate the author's respect for the knowledge the Native people had. It is rare, especially among Christian writers, to see even good things like medicine held in high esteem when they are part of a different culture.

It is in the context of Native culture that Hannah becomes Spirit Dancer. This is something I don't fully understand and for which I have some reservations. When she dances with the other Native women, her spirit rises up to be with the Great Spirit, which Hannah recognizes as the God of the Bible. I have nothing against worshipping the Lord through dance, but in this story, it seemed like Native beliefs were being mixed in with Christianity. That said, I have no other complaints about this book.

I am giving this book 3 out of 4 stars. It was so well written that I am very disappointed I cannot give it 4 stars. There were just too many little typos such as missing quotation marks or incorrect wording such as “for” when it should have said “far.” I recommend this book to women and girls who enjoy Christian fiction and historical fiction. Because of its historical detail, this book may also be useful to homeschoolers and others who enjoy supplementing their history lessons with stories.

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Spirit Dancer
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[Irene C]

Thanks for this review. The novel sounds like a basically well-done fresh look at the Oregon Trail era. I’d never heard of Southerners making the journey. It’s also great that the story centers on a woman.

[crediblereading2]

I like this quaint story, set within the Oregon Trail. I am not too sure if I know how to identify the God of the Christian faith as the same God that the Native people worship.

[nobunkum]

Thanks for the review. It makes me think of the game oregon trail we played growing up. You said that it would be possible to use this as a home schooling resource. Other than migration west what in particular does it add in regards to historical details? Thanks!

[DancingLady]

Thanks for the review. It makes me think of the game oregon trail we played growing up. You said that it would be possible to use this as a home schooling resource. Other than migration west what in particular does it add in regards to historical details? Thanks!

There's a fair amount of detail considering the length. They run through the supply list for the trip, talk about potential problems such as broken wagon parts. The construction of a sweat lodge is discussed as well as the steps the two couples take in the establishment of their homestead, such as cutting sod, building a house. It's not too strung out, but if you don't read too fast you can really get a sense of how two men and two women get these jobs done.

When I was homeschooled as a grade schooler, my mom read us books pretty frequently so we could get a better sense of what was like, rather than just the facts of what happened. That's the kind of resource this would be.

[DancingLady]

I like this quaint story, set within the Oregon Trail. I am not too sure if I know how to identify the God of the Christian faith as the same God that the Native people worship.

I really don't know either. I would like to think she is just dancing along with them and worshiping the true God, but in reading it I just felt uncomfortable with it. My review really wasn't the place to discuss things that could be considered theological nitpicking by some, so I kept my comments brief on this.

[Stacy_Morgan]

I like this quaint story, set within the Oregon Trail. I am not too sure if I know how to identify the God of the Christian faith as the same God that the Native people worship.

I really don't know either. I would like to think she is just dancing along with them and worshiping the true God, but in reading it I just felt uncomfortable with it. My review really wasn't the place to discuss things that could be considered theological nitpicking by some, so I kept my comments brief on this.

Would you say it was easy to imagine it in that way, or did you have to actively focus on seeing it as such? This book sounds like something I'd read, but things like that have made me set books aside in the past, which leaves the story unfinished in my mind; something I don't appreciate.

[DancingLady]

I would say I could have made that decision and held it if I wanted to, but as a reviewer, I sort of left everything open to all logical interpretation so that I could address it most fairly.

[carneysm50]

4-23-2018

I like the stories of the migration to the West and the hardships, catastrophes and determination of the pioneers. The history of the settlement and settlers of our country holds my attention completely. We call them adventures, they called them misguided attempts to better their lives. The characters are believable and the background follows what I have learned and read about previously.

[Libs_Books]

This isn't a period of history that would normally interest me, but I have to say that this book really appeals - I think it's probably the meeting of two cultures that fascinates. Having said that, the typos would put me off a bit.

[DancingLady]

This isn't a period of history that would normally interest me, but I have to say that this book really appeals - I think it's probably the meeting of two cultures that fascinates. Having said that, the typos would put me off a bit.

I know what you mean. Sadly it seems to be the norm around here. No idea why, but ebooks seem to be very poorly edited in general.

[Kibet Hillary]

The review is nice. The story is good and I like the fact that Hannah finally admits that God called them West for a purpose. I love the book genre and I hope to read it soon.