Protected by Paula Peckham
Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart
San Antonio Series, Book 1
Illness claims the lives of all the adults in a small wagon train headed to Texas. At 18, Abby is the oldest, and the weight of leading the surviving children lands on her shoulders.
There is plenty of danger that accompanies the small band of children. Abby is not even certain of the way. Her parents and brother are gone, leaving her without family. Only one family of children have relatives in Texas. Still, she struggles to lead her crew—until two men kidnap her and fourteen-year-old Sarah.
Manny and his friend Jonathan are heading back to Texas when they find the orphans. They can’t turn their backs on them. Manny tries to hide his face, scarred from a fire, so the little ones won’t fear him.
The setting drew me into the story as did the danger. Abby has to learn nearly everything about cooking and establishing a ranch, giving readers a glimpse of the hard work those early settlers endured.
I enjoyed the story and many sections were page-turners for me. I look forward to reading the whole collection.
