A Father’s Dream

By Heidi Ennis (Indie Author, 2023)

Genre: Better Than Bacon!

Pages: 430 (Paperback)

Via: Author request

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“God, help me. Jehovah-Rohi.”

Okay peeps. Listen up. Cuz Mom says today’s that Valerie Thing Day. When hoomans celebrate their loved ones and stuff. And Her Momness says, “NO CHOCOATE FOR KIMBERS!!”

Well. Mom also says we have the perfect book for this Valerie Thing Day. It’s also for anyone who enjoys good historical fiction and action/adventure or outdoor writing. And for anyone who’s ever felt lonely, afraid, discouraged, or fallen in love. If any of the above are you or you’re vertical and breathing, you’re gonna want to hear this.  Ready? Good. Here goes:

A Father’s Dream

Can ya hear me in the back? So for Valerie’s Day and Beyond, here’s the 4-1-1:

Mom and I didn’t really know what to expect when Miss Heidi contacted us for a book review the other day. But, hey. Historical fiction about a Swedish immigrant who sails across the Atlantic, arrives in New York City, loses her two sisters to disease, her brother Puel to conflict, and an abusive, alcoholic father to … abuse and alcoholism? Sounds interesting. Alone in a strange land, Johanna “Hanna” Amalia Nilsdotter Oman has come too far to turn back now. She’s determined to head west to the Washington Territory and secure her father’s homestead. (Kimber: She needs a dog. A really, really good one. But I’m already spoken for, thank you very much!)

“It says March 1, 1883. So I have until September 1 of this year to be settled in that cottage.”

No Clue

Johanna has no clue what wait dangers await. And there are like, a ton. Everything from lecherous ne’er do wells and other voracious predators of the two-legged variety to frontier violence to an unscrupulous timber company that’ll stop at nothing to force homesteaders off their legal claims and take over the land. Including murder.

No Garden Party

Complicating matters is the fact that 18 year-old Johanna doesn’t know a soul. Or a sole. In a strange new land fraught with uncertainty and peril, Johanna is about as cheechako (tenderfoot, newcomer) as they get.

She’s on her own. Or is she?

Instead, she called out to the One that she did believe in, the One who made the river, the eagles, and the salmon. Help me, Father. My shield and my strength.

Remarkable

What follows is one of the most remarkable and gripping historical fiction novels we’ve ever read.

The 4-1-1

John Mahkah Haylaku is half Mahkah and half White. He’s caught between two worlds. He’s a little Hawkeye. A little Uncas. Or maybe Chingachgook. 

The Must-Bite List

John’s a tracker. A hunter. A “man of the West.” He knows the river. He know the mountains. He knows the Washington Territory. Convinced he’s a worthless nobody and a coward due to his inability to protect his sister from an evil priest at the church school they attended as children, John has a darkness in his heart. And head. It started when his starving tribe sent him to the church school in exchange for food. His people thought the children would be well-treated, cared for and safe. They weren’t. To put it mildly. (Kimber: remind me to add a certain “priest” to my Must Bite List. Don’t tell Mom, okay?)

When Johanna hires John to guide her to the site of her father’s homestead claim so she can do the work necessary to “prove up” the claim, etc., neither is too sure about the other. John just wants to walk into the wilderness and never return. Johanna realizes all too well that she doesn’t have Clue 1 how to survive in the harsh and unforgiving environment of the Frontier. Can they stay alive long enough to make it to the family homestead above Lyle in Washington Territory?

Packed

Lightning-quick and action-packed, A Father’s Dream is also packed with some Really Bad Dudes. Vile, villainous and verminous, these guys make toe lint look good. (Kimber has added a bunch of these RBDs to her Must Bite List.)

Thoroughly researched and fascinating in its historical references and attention to detail, A Father’s Dream is a compelling and captivating story that hits all the high notes: Solid historical fiction. Outdoor adventure. Exploration. The Wild, Wild, West. Love, loyalty, and loss. It’s gently faith-flavored without beating you over the head with it.

At that moment, Johanna felt sad. She did not truly know the love or strength of any woman. There had really been none in her life. The older woman’s words set a great loving in her heart, and her eyes filled with tears.

Patience

It takes a little while to gather steam. So be patient, okay. Cuz the author is laying down some important historical and geographic reference points early on and developing key characters with care. So kindly keep your shirt on, Toots. Refreshingly, there are no wasted words here. No extra helpings in the verbose and loquacious departments just to artificially inflate the word count. No White Rabbit bunny trails into Neverland (not to mix metaphors or anything. Nobody’s perfect). Nopers. This is a skillful weft of style and setting to create credible backstories and flesh out the historical setting. Key Native American history, lore, language, culture and customs are also included.

A Little…

It’s a little How the West Was Won (older-than-dirt readers will get that. Hi, Mom). A little The Wild Country (Steve Forest/Vera Miles/Ron Howard). A bit Dances With Wolves or The Last of the Mohicans. Maybe a little Taylor Sheridan’s 1883. Only clean. Besides. How can you not love characterizations like: “While a little, squat man, he radiated joy as if he were ten feel tall” (p. 247)?

Yeppers

And yep, there’s nothing better than a fresh-caught river salmon roasted over an open fire. Oh yeah. And yeppers again. The mighty Columbia River is indeed “equal parts terrifying and magnificent.” Been there. Done that. Oh yeah again.

Besides, what could God want in a man like him? He was no better. He was no one, a coward, useless to those around him.

So. First off, we decided to accept his book for review because, hey. Washington. Hello? That’s home base, peeps. And the Columbia River area? Are you kidding? We’re talking majorly gorgeous here. Kimber: If you haven’t been to this magnificent region, now would be good. It’s maximumly splendiferous! You know this because I say so. Hey! It’s me!

Plus the historical setting piqued our interest, as did the potential for an unusual and uplifting love story between two people from vastly different backgrounds.

But wait – they were a mess together, weren’t they? They had similar scars. They were of different worlds with similar stories.

In Spades

And A Father’s Dream delivers. In spades. Or bacon.

Marinated in mercy and steeped in grace, A Father’s Dream is an exceptional faith-flavored story. The author’s love and respect for the region, its people, and its history shines through on every page. This includes the river tribes and the Pyush and the Patisapatishama. The mountains. The flora and fauna. We especially appreciated how the narrative treats different cultures and people groups with dignity and respect. No stereotyping.

“We are protectors of this land, of these mountains, of this river, of the people who live here, who have always lived here. Our people.”

Themes

Themes include loyalty, love, and loss. Doubt and fear. Courage and compassion. Revenge and redemption. Family. The relationship between John and his brother Sam is especially strong.

Scene Stealers

Scene stealers: Mr. Hargreaves, lawyer with a heart of gold, and his wife, Jeannie. (Kimber: My kinda hoomans!) Also Onacona. And that’s all we’re saying about that guy. You’ll have to read the book yourself to find out more.

Because I am with you. Always.

Dialogue?

One thing we questioned is some of the dialogue. Every now and then it doesn’t seem consistent with the historical context: “Hey, at least that’ll be a cool scar” (p. 332). “She thought she heard the sound he was freaking out about…”  (p. 335). Or, “… demanding John man up…” (pp. 3501).

This kind of dialogue fits the 21^st century. Buts the Wild West of the late 1800s? Not so much. But this is a minor issue and doesn’t detract from the overall read. Just sayin.’ Also, John’s oft-repeated “Nobody loves me. Everybody hates me. Think I’ll eat some worms” gets old. Fast. (We got it the first 256 times, okay?) But this is also minor and doesn’t detract from the overall read.

“We have a choice,” the man said, watching John. “A choice as to which voice we listen to.”

Double

Incidentally, alert readers will detect a double meaning in the title.

“You see, my child.” John’s grandmother touched Johanna’s cheek again. “The strength of women. We are strong when we are connected. We give all to those we love, but we do it with the strength of those who have gone before us, those who have loved us and sacrificed for us.”

Beautifully written and brimming with creativity and wit, A Father’s Dream is a stunning accomplishment. It’s also a perfect fit for Valerie Thing Day. Because at its heart, A Father’s Dream is about love, both human and divine. So we can’t quite put into words how much we loved this book. You will, too.

Kimber: Okay, so who’s “Valerie’?

Our Rating: 4.5

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