Jumping Off Places

by Laura Stratton Friel

Nell Baker is not the kind of woman a man can put down. The Scarlet O’Hara of Mormon literature, Nell Baker is a woman who knows what she wants and sooner or later, figures out how to get it! Freeing herself from a bland engagement, Nell meets Tom Mortenson, a Mormon, and is instantly intrigued. Tom baptizes Nell and marries her. In her heart, Nell doesn’t believe much of what Tom preaches, but she does believe in her love for him and his love for her. What begins as youthful flirtation blossoms into full, mature love through separation, sacrifice, and many unforeseen hardships. As Tom follows Brigham Young to the valley of the Great Salt Lake, Nell grapples with her unforgiving family, a new baby and her longings to be taken care of by a now-absent husband. Finally, reaching a point of no return—the Jumping Off Place—Nell loads up her covered wagon, and heads west, with two rough guides, a nanny goat, and her small daughter. Jumping Off Places is an epic journey of a headstrong woman with a love as big as the Nebraska sky, and a will to match the mighty Missouri, as she heads west to build a new life with the man she loves. Nell Baker Mortenson is a pioneer woman unlike no other, before or since. "Jump off" with Nell and Tom and enjoy this unforgettable adventure!

334 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2004

Reviews

[Katrina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sure this is a great story and I wish I could tolerate more of it, to find out what happens. But with my training and background, I just couldn't handle reading any more mistakes. Apparently the publishing company Friel used didn't use a copy editor (how is that possible?!). The first big flag went up for me when Tom gives Nell hardtack because women are partial to sweets. What?! And then she's holding the hardtack in her cheek, sucking on its sweetness and I'm trying to picture a large, bland, dry cracker fitting in Nell's cheek and tasting sweet. I was afraid that if Friel didn't know the difference between hardtack and horehound candy, there was a good chance there would be other editing mistakes. (And for me, with all my research and writing about the pioneers and their time period, this was a blatant error.) Sure enough, within the next 50 pages I found "berthed" for birthed, "shudders" for shutters, and "raucous"--an adjective--being used as a noun.

Also, I know the author is a mother, so I was confused as to why she allowed Nell to continue talking throughout labor, even when pains got to be two minutes apart! Or am I the only woman who becomes so focused during the last part of labor that I can barely even process what others say to me, much less formulate an answer? And then a few hours after Nell's baby is born, her breasts are already engorged with milk. Yet, in reality, colostrum is all a baby gets for the first couple days after birth before the milk comes in--which means no breast engorgement for at least a couple of days. Technicalities, perhaps, but again, very obvious errors or oversights to me. I wish I could overlook all that and not let it bother me, but I can't turn my editing off and it was interfering with my enjoyment of the story, so I had to quit reading. If Friel ever publishes a second edition, I hope she will hire an editor so more discriminating readers can enjoy her story too!

[Strat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course, I am partial since I am the author's son (Strat), but trying to be objective, I really got into it and thoroughly enjoyed it. I couldn't put it down after I started it and it was more than I expected it to be. By the way, my mom IS LDS and does understand the faith. May have a few issues with it, but does understand it. Thanks to everyone who liked it. It bums me out a little bit reading some of the negative comments about my mom's life work, but I do appreciate everyone's comments. Thanks.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book, although I didn't love how the ending was handled. I don't think the ending needed to be different, but it just bugged me in a few things. If what a previous reviewer said is true, and the author isn't LDS, that may explain why it bugged me because she doesn't completely understand the LDS church and history. But maybe that is why I did like it, it made me think about what I would have chosen if I were Nell. It was a fun read.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the development of the Nell character. As far as the story goes, Nell doesn't accept the Church and its teachings. She falls in love with Tom thinking she can replace his beliefs. Amazingly enough, she crosses the plains, admirably and by herself and three-year-old Jenny. When she meets up in Council Bluffs with the Mormons, new and lovable characters are intoduced. I was uncomfortable, however, with how Church doctrine was depicted.

[Megan Parke · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book seems to be written for LDS readers by a non-LDS author, who really didn't understand the religion she was writing about. It didn't like this book.

[Gaylene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one!

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a pretty good book but it got kind of boring at some parts and i didn't feel like finishing it, but I did anyway

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just picked this book at random from the library. I thought it was pretty entertaining as well as a good reminder of some of the trials the pioneers must have endured.

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

The punctuation editing was awful, and I had a hard time continuing to read it, but it got a little interesting and so I kept going. But the ending was LAME!