The View from Half Dome

by Jill Caugherty

1934. Isabel longs to escape her squalid San Francisco neighborhood. While her mother struggles to make ends meet and her older brother serves with the CCC at Yosemite, she manages the household and comforts her younger sister with stories about an idyllic imaginary world. Desperate for a taste of freedom, she takes matters into her own hands-with tragic consequences.

Distraught, she flees to Yosemite, where she falls in love with its majestic beauty. Inspired by Enid Michael, the park's only female ranger-naturalist, Isabel hikes, learns new skills, and discovers an inner strength she never knew she had. But even as she relishes her independence, she hides her grief, along with a terrible secret she fears will destroy relations with her family. And when she receives upsetting news from home, Isabel must decide if she can assist her family without sacrificing her chance at a new life.

Rich with historical detail and lyrical prose, The View from Half Dome is a moving coming of age story about hope, forgiveness, nature's healing power, and the courage to overcome societal boundaries and grow, regardless of age.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Nature, Historical, Ebooks, Coming Of Age

287 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 20, 2023

About the author

Jill Caugherty is the author of the historical novel, THE VIEW FROM HALF DOME (release date April 20, 2023), and the debut novel WALTZ IN SWING TIME.

Her short stories have been published in 805Lit, Oyster River Pages, and The Magazine of History and Fiction.

A former senior marketing manager in the tech industry, she now writes full time. Jill is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers’ Association and the North Carolina Writers’ Network. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with her husband and daughter. Please visit https://www.jillcaugherty.com for more information.

Reviews

[Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed North Carolina author, Jill Caugherty’s, Waltz in Swing Time. The View from Half Dome was just as enjoyable.

Set in the 1930s, Isabel’s story begins in San Francisco. Times are hard, and Isabel dreams of a better future, of joining her brother whose working at Yosemite National Park. A tragedy happens, and she flees to the park.

There Isabel meets Enid Michael, based on a real person, a Park ranger and naturalist. Isabel soaks up the natural beauty around her, while also soaking up knowledge from Enid. At the same time, she’s harboring a secret and fear about what is happening at home. Her world is divided between the beauty of her immediate environment and the problems she has back home.

Overall, I was immersed in Isabel’s coming-of-age story of family and the wondrous landscape of Yosemite. I also have to mention the cameos by none other than Angel Adams. Well-done.

I received a gifted copy.

Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader

[Mai H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw the title and ran. French guys that like to hike IYKYK

The Great Depression has depleted jobs in San Francisco. Isabel's father is dead. Her mother finds her shifts cut. Her brother is hours away. When put in charge of watching her younger sister, an accident occurs. Rife with grief, Isabel runs away to Yosemite and makes a home with a woman naturalist and her husband.

While hints of feminism abound, Isabel reads as a very young and self-obsessed narrator. When her mother is injured, she doesn't want to return to San Francisco to tend to her. I'm not saying it's her brother's job. We place too much of this burden on daughters. But Isabel as a narrator annoys me.

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Black Rose Writing

[Nursebookie · Rating 4 out of 5]

TITLE: The View From Half Dome
AUTHOR: Jill Caugherty
PUB DATE: 04.20.2023 Now Available

Rich with historical detail and lyrical prose, The View from Half Dome is a moving coming of age story about hope, forgiveness, nature's healing power, and the courage to overcome societal boundaries and grow, regardless of age.

Thoughts:

I have always wanted to visit Yosemite just like our young 16 yo protagonist Isabel Dickinson, who sees it as a majestic place - and a place of solace, escape, and healing. Isabel escapes a tragic event and her life of poverty with her mother in San Francisco, to join her brother in Yosemite who serves with the CCC. There in Yosemite, in a chance encounter, she finds Enid Michael, Yosemite’s first female ranger, who eventually becomes her mentor. I found the story poignant, and a beautiful coming of age story, that incorporates historical facts into this historical fiction read. I enjoyed reading about the characters and the beautiful backdrop of a majestic park.⁣

[Linda Ulleseit · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a love story to Yosemite. It follows Isabel, who feels trapped in poor neighborhood in San Francisco, where she and her sister dream of a special place. Isabel's brother works for the CCC in Yosemite, and she imagines that place as an escape. After a devastating tragedy, Isabel runs away to join her brother. At the park, she meets Enid Michaels (inspired by a real female ranger) and learns about nature and independence. Read this book for the stunning setting descriptions, but read it also for what it says about the strength of family. Highly recommended.

[Sheila Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel began with a heart-wrenching event. Isabel’s journey with grief is punctuated by vivid descriptions of Yosemite National Park and all of its uniqueness. Along with her personal journey, you’ll learn about the people who worked to conserve the park and its natural wonders: Ansel Adams, Enid Michael, and the men of the CCC. This is a historical novel with characters and settings that keep you glued to the pages.

[Kerry Chaput · Rating 5 out of 5]

Isabel flees her hometown of San Francisco after a tragedy she can’t forgive herself for. Unable to confide in her single mother as she struggles through the Great Depression, Isabel seeks solace with her brother at Yosemite’s CCC camp. While there, Isabel meets the park’s first female ranger and she learns that a new world is possible for her if she overcomes sexism, social constraints, and the grief of her past. Isabel will steal your heart with her hopeful spirit.

[Cherisa B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit juvenile, but a nice little escape from the Depression in dark and cramped San Francisco into a beautiful national park.

[Kelly Beattie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel, set in 1930s San Francisco and Yosemite, was a lovely coming of age story about Isabel, a young girl who despite tragedy, wanted to forge a better life for herself. The descriptions of Yosemite painted a beautiful picture that brought the reader along as Isabel was discovering natures beauty and healing powers for the first time. Isabel fell in love with the majestic beauty of Yosemite and met some inspiring role models along the way who showed her that she could be anyone she wanted to be, despite her tragic beginnings. I also enjoyed that some of the characters in the story were real life people such as famed photographer Ansel Adams. Thank you NetGalley and Black Rose Writing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a rare story where I honestly grew to enjoy it further the more that I read.
The descriptive nature passages were grand, and you couldn’t help but fall for several of the characters. Definitely recommend!
If only I could see half dome in person now and all of Yosemite to understand it’s grandeur.
Clean content for a YA audience. Will be handing this one off to my teen daughter!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the chance to read this book! Many thanks to the author as well for a grand tale intertwined with historical authenticity.

[Padgett Gerler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was going through a bit of a reader’s slump when I picked up Jill Caugherty’s mesmerizing THE VIEW FROM HALF DOME and blew my slump (and me) away. This historical fiction grabbed me on page one and held me spellbound until the end.

Jill’s characters and settings are so real, so believable, I felt I knew everyone personally and was experiencing the grit and despair of San Francisco, as well as the lush beauty of Yosemite, right along with Izzy, her family, and her friends. All the characters are interesting and wonderfully developed, and the settings are so vibrant and painstakingly researched. (Surely, the author has first-hand knowledge to be able to portray her surroundings so meticulously.) Even though there is an overarching desperation to the characters’ lives, the author hints of hope in the future. And I do love a promising, hopeful ending.

Thank you, Jill, for pulling me out of my slump and for gifting us with this beautiful work. Everyone—from teen to “me-age”—should experience THE VIEW FROM HALF DOME.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

The View from Half Dome is a coming of age story set during the Depression about a young girl who is looking for a better life away from the tragedy and negativity of her life. She finds her freedom and her new life in the beauty of the outdoors in Yosemite National Park.

It's 1934 and Isabel hates the changes in her life. In the previous year, her father has died, her brother has joined the CCCs in Yosemite park and her mother has had to go to work as a hotel maid plus the family had to move from their nice house to a squalid rundown apartment in the dangerous Tenderloin district of San Francisco. It's up to Isabel to run the house, cook the meals, take care of her 9 year old sister, go to school and work part time. After a horrible tragedy, she leaves a note for her mother and runs away to see her brother. She has no idea that she can't stay with him because only males are allowed in the camps. She's taken in by Enid, the only female ranger in the entire Park service and her husband. From Enid she gains a better understanding of herself and her strengths by learning more about nature. Just when she embraces her new life and makes plans for her future, she receives news from home that may change all of her dreams for the future.

The author does a fantastic job of writing about the beauty of Yosemite and we see Isabel's gradual change as she learns more about nature from Enid. The more she learns, the more she changes into the person she wants to be in the future. Will she be able to make her dreams come true or will her role as a female - and therefore a caregiver - cause her to return to her previous life in San Francisco?

I enjoyed seeing Isabel grow up and make dreams for her future after losing so much in her life. My favorite character was Enid - an older woman who was the only ranger/naturalist in the park system and fought the sexism against her every day because she was a woman in a man's world.

Though the book is fiction, it also has real life people - Enid Michael worked as a naturalist/ranger at Yosemite in the 1930s and she and her husband were expert climbers. She was faced with unfair criticism from her supervisor who believed that women shouldn't be rangers. There are also glimpses of Ansel Adams, the famed photographer, and his wife.

This coming of age story is a book about hope, forgiveness and the healing power of nature. It looks at the difficulty of overcoming social beliefs based on age and sex. It's also a terrific look at the plants, birds and the mountains of Yosemite

[David Rabin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jill Caugherty’s The View from Half Dome is exemplary historical fiction wrapped around a captivating story of a teenaged girl’s journey from despair to hope to redemption.

Set in 1934 during the depths of the Great Depression, the story follows sixteen-year-old Isabel Dickinson, who lives in a squalid tenement in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco with her mother and nine-year-old sister. Theirs had once been a happy family of modest means, but tragedy struck when Isabel’s father, a longshoreman, died of a heart attack, forcing them into poverty.

Isabel’s mother now works long, hard hours as a maid at a hotel, barely staying employed and just as barely getting through life. The family is in dire circumstances, living in a hovel with hardly enough food to survive. Isabel’s older brother, James, has gone to work at Yosemite with the Civilian Conservation Corps, leaving Isabel as the primary caretaker of her younger sister.

Isabel’s life is upended yet again when another tragedy strikes, for which she feels responsible. Wracked with guilt and unable to bear her discouraging life, she runs away to Yosemite to see her brother, with little thought of what may lie beyond her arrival.

There, she meets Enid and Charles Michael. Enid is a ranger-naturalist and Charles is the assistant postmaster, and for many years they’ve lived for most of the year at Yosemite. Enid takes Isabel under her wing, introducing her to an environment and a life far different from anything Isabel had experienced, and imparting her vast knowledge of Yosemite’s natural wonders. Along the way, Isabel learns a great deal about nature and about herself.

At its heart, The View from Half Dome is a story of Isabel’s journeys: her trip from San Francisco to Yosemite; her adjustment to a world and way of life she had never imagined; and, most of all, her spiritual journey from despondence and inadequacy and guilt to hope and confidence and redemption.

Caugherty couples rigorous research with gorgeous writing. Her descriptions of the Tenderloin and Isabel’s life there, and the flora and fauna of Yosemite, have a movie-like “you are there” quality.

This is historical fiction at its very best: a wonderful story that immerses the reader in a distant era. Readers of Sue Monk Kidd and Kim Michele Richardson will enjoy Caugherty’s deeply touching story.

[Jean Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Huddled under a table, sisters Isabel and Audrey, spin tales of an imaginary Island far from their unhappy home in the gritty Tenderloin neighborhood in San Francisco. Set during the Great Depression, The View from Half Domeis the story of a teenaged girl and her rails against her mother, their dire economic situation, societal norms for women, and a devastating personal tragedy as she tries to find her place in the world.
Isabel’s father has died, leaving her mother broken and struggling to provide for her children. James, Isabel’s brother, is working with the Conservation Corp in Yosemite. Isabel is jealous of his freedom, both as a male in general and as a son, free from the harsh conditions at home. After a second tragedy strikes, Isabel flees her bitter mother and travels to Yosemite where she falls in love with the natural world around her. Isabel spends a magical summer exploring the park, while hiding a terrible secret she believes will destroy her relationship with both her brother and her mother, and her dreams for the future.
The View from Half Dome is a beautiful coming of age story. As Isabel explores the park, she learns, not only about the flora and fauna of her environment, but also about herself, her dreams and what she is capable of.
The book is well written with a steady pace. I enjoyed the descriptions of both the ugliness of depression-era San Francisco and Yosemite National Park. In fact, the passages about the park, make me want to visit. Isabel’s story is touching and has a nice resolution.
I would recommend this book to readers of historical fiction, women’s fiction and those who just love a great story.

[Suanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in San Francisco during the Great Depression, The View from Half Dome is the story of sixteen-year-old Isabel Dickinson. After her longshoreman father dies on the docks, she and her family (her mother, a teenaged brother James, and a nine-year-old sister) move to the squalid Tenderloin District. Her brother joins the Civilian Conservation Corps and works at Yosemite National Park. They barely get by, even with him contributing most of his salary.

A tragic accident occurs, and Isabel runs away from home to join her brother in Yosemite. There she’s befriended by Enid Michael, the first—only female—ranger-naturalist on staff. They form a deep bond, sharing their love of nature and the poems of Emily Dickinson. From Enid, Isabel learns that women can be independent.

The View from Half Dome, a great coming-of-age story, is historical fiction at its best. Author Jill Caughterty deftly interweaves fiction and reality. Enid Michael was, in fact, the first female ranger-naturalist. The photographer Ansel Adams and his wife are also real people. I was fortunate, in my prior life as a photographer, to take a class from him before his death at eighty-two in 1984, so I really appreciated his presence in the book. As a lifelong “birder” and conservationist, I also enjoyed the descriptions of birds, plants, trees, and the mountains themselves.

[L.M. Poplin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The View From Half Dome by Jill Caugherty is a beautifully written love letter—to Yosemite, to Enid Michael, and to the importance of family—celebrating the kind of love that heals and empowers a young woman to overcome a devastating tragedy.

Isabel, a high school student newly burdened with too much responsibility, escapes from poverty and loss to the soul-restoring beauty of Yosemite and the inspiring example of its first female naturalist—only to discover that true healing comes when we face our challenges head on.

Reading Caugherty’s gorgeous prose is equally restorative for the reader, who is immediately immersed in San Fransisco of the 1930’s—a city full of economic depression and heartbreak, but also one of hope and wondrous natural beauty. Caugherty doesn’t shy away from the darker sides of human experience (in fact, her depictions of gender inequality and the abuse of nature still ring true) but the lyrical writing flows effortlessly, enabling readers to submerge themselves into the lives of characters who display real compassion and courage.

As a native Californian (who has hiked Half-Dome twice!) The View from Half Dome transported me to a world I have always longed to visit—where Ansel Adams still hiked with his camera and the CCC was hard at work building the national park—a world I will happily revisit again.

[Karla Huebner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an engaging novel set in Depression-era northern California, and is appropriate for readers from about age 11 to 111. Isabel, the protagonist, is a young teen whose book-loving longshoreman father has recently died and whose mother has had to move the family into a dismal, mouse-infested apartment in San Francisco's Tenderloin district. Life is pretty tough as Isabel's mother is exhausted and fears losing her job, while the oldest sibling is away in Yosemite working at a CCC camp and the youngest needs looking after and lots of storytelling. Then further tragedy strikes, leading Isabel to head for Yosemite herself with the help of a boy from school. While the CCC camp does not allow girls, Isabel ends up spending the summer learning nature study with Enid Michael, who was a real-life ranger and friend of the photographer Ansel Adams (who makes a cameo appearance in the novel). This is a coming-of-age story that will appeal to a wide audience.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Black Rose Writing in exchange for an honest review..

[Gail Olmsted · Rating 5 out of 5]

The View from Half Dome by Jill Caugherty is a riveting, coming of-age story featuring Isabel Dickinson, a young woman seeking independence and a brighter future in the aftermath of the Great Depression. When tragedy tears apart her family, Isabel leaves San Francisco and heads to Yosemite to seek solace from her older brother James, who is building bridges and hiking trials with the Civilian Conservation Corps. What she finds is an opportunity to create a whole new life among the abundant natural resources of the majestic park. Inspired by Enid Michael, the only female ranger-naturalist on staff, Izzy learns new skills and finds an inner strength she never knew she possessed. But when problems arise back home, she needs to decide just how much she is willing to sacrifice for the new life she craves. Well-developed characters, careful attention to historical detail, a gorgeous setting and a story that will stay with you. 5 Stars!

[Diane Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was drawn to the title of this book after a visit to Yosemite National Park some years ago, definitely a highlight of our California roadtrip. As for the novel it was ok. Perhaps a little sentimental for my taste. Leaving San Francisco escaping the trauma of family tragedy and searching for her life purpose, Isabel follows on the trail of her brother who’s working out in the Yosemite valley. She’s taken in by a local couple and whilst there begins to fall in love with the natural environment and with the help of a local naturalist her mind begins to heal and she gradually starts to move forward in her life, opening up about the mistakes she has made. As I’ve said a little sentimental but I enjoyed the descriptive nature of her surroundings.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

[Louise Jensen Duffy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful (literally)!

I was lucky enough to snag an early copy of this and the story of a young woman finding her way amid the most gorgeous natural setting reminded me of 'Where the Crawdads Sing'.

Isobel is so engaging and relatable but it was the beauty of the descriptions of Yosemite that had me spellbound until the end.

Cannot recommend highly enough!

[Corrine Ardoin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This coming-of-age story is about a young woman and her family during the Great Depression. In 1930s San Francisco, Isabel, her mother, and sister have fallen into desperate living conditions in the rough and seedy Tenderloin District. Her father died and her brother joined the Civilian Conservation Corps in Yosemite, leaving the three females in the family with very limited means. As a consequence, her mother turns bitter and abusive. Isabel attends high school, works in her spare time, plus cooks and cleans and helps with her young sister. To help them both, she creates a fantasy world that is beautiful and peaceful. However, once tragedy strikes, that fantasy world is crushed.

Terrified, Isabel leaves to join her brother in the mountains. There, she finds the support and real-life beauty she and her sister longed to experience. As the months go by, she grows strong and capable hiking the trails and working outdoors. She establishes a life for herself in Yosemite and is determined to stay. Further hardship back home appears to spell doom for her, but it contains a gift, revealing the path in life she has needed to find. Along the way, healing comes, for her family and for Isabel who has matured and learned well from life's challenges.

Great story, well-written. Reads like a young adult novel for teens. A wonderful story with a message that old and young will enjoy. I highly recommend it to all who love nature and appreciate positive stories that take the harsh realities of life and turn them into a tale of courage and hopefulness.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was kindly sent this ARC by @Netgalley and Black Rose Writing in exchange for an honest review.

In 1934 San Francisco, Isabel dreams of escaping her life of poverty and invents an imaginary island with her little sister. After a tragic event, she leaves her mother and flees to Yosemite where her brother is serving with the CCC and spends a summer with the inspirational Mrs Michael and her husband. Enid Michael is the only female ranger naturalist in the park and Isabel begins to long to live this life permanently.

I initially wanted to read this book due to my love of Yosemite. I was transported instantly in those chapters back to all the places I love. The mist trail, Vernal Falls, Camp Curry and of course Half Dome. The writer describes in such detail the beautiful plants and wildlife and all given a human touch by Enid who liked to use female pronouns for flora and fauna. It was so evocative of the park and it’s inhabitants and the history behind things was fascinating and well researched.

But this book is so much more than that! In the chapters prior to Isabel arriving at Yosemite the characters and storyline gripped me. It was heartbreaking and I could really feel our protagonist’s sadness and daily struggles and her desire for escape and redemption.

The story kept my interest the whole way through and the ending was good and not too ‘and they all lived happily ever after’ which I did have a slight fear may happen.

This book is for everyone that likes a well told story of family and challenges with a twist of nature and adventure thrown in. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am now thinking about my next trip to SF and Yosemite.

4 Stars

[Nanette Littlestone · Rating 5 out of 5]

A captivating story

This coming-of-age story of 16-year-old Isabel is filled with remarkable scenic descriptions and page-turning tension as she attempts to escape lifeless drudgery and pursue her dreams. Jill Caugherty paints the squalid Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco with musty rain-splattered dreariness. A bleary home for a girl on the brink of womanhood who wants more. A place Isabel can’t wait to leave after tragedy occurs and a complete opposite to Yosemite. At this haven the air is fresh, the flowers in abundance, the forests full of stately trees and wildlife, and enormous mountains in the distance that grace the sky with majesty. Throughout the story the comparisons between Isabel’s life in SF compared to Yosemite are like dark to light. In SF she was barely living. In Yosemite she begins to thrive.

History and gorgeous scenery go hand in hand in this lovely story of Isabel’s courage, determination to set her own course, and perseverance in the throes of grief and guilt. You’ll be wanting to hike the forests with her, study the flora and fauna, and cheer her on as she struggles to find her way.

[Travis Marcum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished this one recently as it was part of a book exchange. Definitely not something I would typically gravitate toward. I found it engaging, enlightening, and extremely well-written. I really connected with the protagonist, Isabel and her longing to escape the grip of a town that suffocates her dreams.

A couple favorite quotes:

“It was humans’ fleeting time to enjoy Nature that made its beauty so poignant.”

“Stop, observe, think. One step at a time.”

#whatyoureadingfor
#TheViewFromHalfDome

[Elaine Stock · Rating 5 out of 5]

The View from Half Dome was a touching, inspiring read I highly recommend. Isabel is a teen who rises from family tragedy and hardships, and shaped by the beauty of the outdoors of Yosemite, moves forward to not only live the life she wants to but helps a special someone who teaches her the meaning of forgiveness. This is a treasure of a book!

[Maron Faulkner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little gem of a book that sneaks up on you and then you suddenly realize you are 100% invested in the characters’ lives. Start it because it has a catchy title; stay with it because it’s a great story.

[Debbie Rozier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never been to Yosemite but the rich descriptions in this book transported me there. This book isn’t just a book full of nature, it’s also a well written coming of age story as well as a historical fiction book with descriptions of life in the poverty stricken areas of San Francisco during 1934.

Isabel, a 16 year old whose family has hit hard times after the death of her father, goes to school, cooks, works part-time, and is the primary care giver for her 9 year old sister, Audrey.

When Isabel just wants a few minutes with a boy, a tragic accident occurs. Isabel runs away to Yosemite to see her brother who works in the Civilian Conservation Corps there.

Isabel meets and spends the summer with the assistant postmaster and his wife, Enid. Enid, who is the only woman naturalist at Yosemite, teaches Isabel so much about nature, healing, and using her potential to make the future better.

This book features characters that were real people such as Enid, Enid’s direct supervisor, and Enid’s good friend, nature photographer, Ansel Adams. I loved that feeling of mixing real people and history with a touching fictional story.

[Mary Schlafke · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book as I visited Yosemite and was truly amazed at its beauty. This book has lots of references to various parts of the park, but it was the most boring and dull book I have read in a very long time.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I requested and received an ARC of The View from Half Dome primarily because I absolutely love Yosemite National Park.

As an inside and backwards look at Yosemite, the book is very good. It describes the story of Isabel, a young woman who runs away to the Park from her tenement home in San Francisco after her younger sister is killed, having been hit by a car when she ran heedlessly into the street. Isabel blames herself for this tragedy, although it is certainly not her fault. She decides that she wants to get to Yosemite where her older brother is a member of the CCC. She manages to do this with the help of a friend who borrows a truck. When the story takes place, it’s 1934 and the trip is harrowing.

When she reaches Yosemite and finds her brother, to her dismay she cannot stay with him as the CCC is only for men. Providentially she meets the only female Ranger-Naturalist in Yosemite at the time (her husband is the summer Postmaster), and manages to stay the summer with them.

Again, as a descriptive history picture of Yosemite and its magnificent beauty, the book is great. But, the story, while certainly interesting, is not compelling reading. The description of the natural flora and fauna is very engaging, but, sadly, the characters and the writing are a little flat; to me, serving more as a way to buttress what is a lovely natural history of the first National Park, than an engaging story. It’s a nice story. But it’s predictable.

I give this book three stars because the description of Yosemite and the challenges of being a woman in the National Park Service in 1934 is compelling. What is the glue that holds the story together is flimsy.

[Crystal Alvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

First and foremost, I want to thank Goodreads for awarding me not only a copy of this fantastic book; but a signed copy at that! I was super ecstatic that my signed copy came mailed directly by the author! That gesture alone made me even more eager to begin reading the book. Not that I wasn't already eager to start with. I just genuinely loved that the author cared enough to include a note. Something not alot of people would do.

This was the first I've heard of this peticular author but after reading this book and reading reviews of another book by her; I can't wait to read more that she has written.

I am never one to give out spoilers in my reviews, but I will say if you have a penchant for crying- Make sure you keep a box of tissues nearby.

My wife walked in on me during one of my reading sessions and one look at me asked "OMG! Are you okay?!?! What's wrong?!?!"

My answer. It's this book I'm reading. 😆

I loved the historical accuracy pertained within the character storyline based on the lives of real people.

Also, I have never been to Yosemite National Park, yet the graphic details the author gives of the gorgeous sounding landscape painted a beautiful picture in my mind. It gives me a desire to visit the location one day.

I clung to the heart portrayed by Isabel and felt my heart breaking for the pain and personal torments she was going through.

I would love this story to continue with a sequel of her growth and further adventures! If that ever happens, I will be first in line at the bookstore's cash register-I can tell you that!

I totally recommend this read!

[Chelsie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading about Yosemite in this novel. An interesting historical novel about one of the first female naturalists in Yosemite and how she fought to pave the way for other women in this field. Isabel is sick of the dreary, dirty San Francisco neighborhood and she is not sure how much longer she can put up with her mother and always having to be the caretaker of her sister and do the cleaning and cooking on top of school. After a terrible tragedy occurs, she makes a rash decision to seek her out her brother who serves in the CCC at Yosemite. A large favor taken from a friend, she finds her way out there with no plan, no money and nothing further beyond just the need to see James. With the help of strangers, Isabel slowly finds herself enveloped in the Yosemite beauty and all it has to offer. Feeling like she finally belongs and is a part of something, she is quickly taken under the wing of Enid Michael to learn and grow but her past isn't far and Enid knows there is something more to Isabel's story. As Enid has learned, humans just like nature will grow and eventually their secrets will be revealed. Carrying the burden of what she ran from and the need to finally do something for herself, Isabel has some hard decisions to make and whether she is doing them for the right reason. I really loved all the nature through out this novel. Thank you to Suzy Approved Book Tours for the invite and to the author for the free novel. This review is of my own opinion and accord.