Molly's Reviews > The Blue Hour: A Novel

To say this is a story about the journey west on the Oregon Trail would be too simple. To call it the "thought process" of one traveler would also be too simple. The Blue Hour is a wonderful account of one young woman's life, what lead to her departure from a comfortable existence in Springfield, Illinois, and her absolute determination to survive.

Emily Wainwright starts out smart and quick on her feet, but somewhat sheltered and naive at the same time. While some authors can fall into the trap of trying to make a main character too many things at once, Emily is a nice balanced mix. She is clearly educated based on how she thinks about the world, but has moments where her judgment may not be as developed as we the readers think it should be - purposefully. She starts out falling into traps that have clear warning signals, and are frustrating to a reader in the best sense, and this story is more about how she learns through survival than anything else.

The supporting characters along the way (literally) have a depth, and a refreshing outside perspective. They float in and out of the story, based on Emily's journey, with an ease that is a credit to Vicki Righettini's story-telling.

A must read for those interested in historical novels, especially ones that focus on this relatively unexplored time period in fiction!