Chalk's Woman

by David Ballantine

David Ballantine's debut novel Chalk's Woman , is a story about freedom, liberation, and love. Set in the violent backdrop of the waning months of the Civil War, Chalk's Woman addresses violence and redemption as seen through the eyes of a girl maturing into a woman.

Ann, a fourteen-year-old girl, wakes up after a terrible explosion in a make-shift hospital during the waning months of the Civil War--her house no longer stands and her mother is dead, and a young Dr. Frazier amputated her arm in order to to prevent infection. . Homeless and an orphaned, Ann feels her only option is to travel west.

She leaves Vicksburg on the Santa Fe Trail and meets a troupe of orphaned children like herself and joins up with them. Together they fight against the hardships of the wild abominable weather, savage Indians, and starvation all the way to Kansas where they meet and, much to his chagrin, fall in love with Chalk.

Chalk's not the nicest of men, and he sure does have a drinking problem, but from the moment Chalk and Ann see each other, they know their lives will forever be entwined.

Genres: Historical Fiction

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 2000

Reviews

[Paul Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading the back and inside covers it would suggest that the story is about Ann, "Chalk's Woman", and a family of orphans traveling the Oregon Trail after the Civil War. This is technically correct for the first ~20% of the book, which I thoroughly enjoyed. However, the story then switches focus to Chalk himself, and the narrative doesn't really leave him for the rest of the novel. I was excited for this book to be "a tale of [Ann]'s journey to discover the meaning of family" (quote from inside cover), but found myself feeling woefully baited-and-switched.

[Audrey Parker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. I finished it because I was more than half way through. This book was hard to follow and seemed to jump around at times. The characters were only skin deep and I just wasn’t able to make that connection that makes a book remarkable. I really wanted to like this book!!!

[justablondemoment · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was not for me. I thought the idea for the book was a great one. The story would have probably carried me to the end, as I found the characters intriguing but the author didn't follow through and just when I thought I was going to get to know the characters, I was immediately let down.

I also could not get past the style of writing it felt very juvenile. Extremely short sentence structure no depth at all. It was like reading Dick, Jane and Spot. I expected more...shrugs...it happens.

[Phair · Rating 2 out of 5]

A strange book. Parts were very good and at other times it was so rambling that it was hard to follow. It was almost like two separate books with only a tenuous connection between them. The ending was one of those 'off camera' type things where you have to decide for yourself what finally happens. Humbug. Unfocused with too many characters not fully fleshed out although in spots the writing was involving.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book started out with an interesting beginning, but at over halfway through, the entire focus/plot of the book changed and did not feel worth my time. Stopped reading.

[Laura Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me awhile to get into the book and I almost put it down. Then the disjointed beginning of the book started making sense. This is not the typical book about the wild west.