Customer Reviews

Beyond the Divide

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I read Beyond the Divide when I was 12. It is well-written and has haunted me ever since I first read it. Despite its intention for children, the book treats the hardships of pioneer life seriously and beautifully captures the coming of age of an adolescent girl. Because of the nature of some of the book's themes, I would only recommend this book for teens and above (or very mature younger readers). It is fast-paced and fascinating. Read it and you won't regret it!

This book was, I admit, boring at the beginning. I had trouble staying awake through the first few chapters. As I read on though, I became more interested in the vivid storyline and began to get an image of what pioneer life was like back then. Once the book became interesting, I had trouble putting it down. I recommend this book to older children, as it does deal with some mature issues.

This book has very little to do with the Amish. The names are all wrong -- no Amish person names their child Taylor. It isn't done. They don't use "thee" and "thou" -- that is ancient Quaker language. I think the author thought it would be neat to use the Amish tie-in, but it really fails to add anything to the story. Yes, the girl was sheltered, but so were many in 19th century rural America. There is so little mentioned about the Amish (and even less that is correct) that the whole subject could have been left out totally. There is also no real tension about this daughter leaving home. Amish daughters rarely leave home and espcially not to follow a father who has been shunned. Why does she love her father so much? There are no clear explanations. This entire event took one chapter. All in all this could have been done a lot better if it had left the Amish out and concentrated more on the harshness of pioneer life. And the rape and suicide stuff is a little much also. Unnecessary additions to a story that could have stood on its own without all the extra nonsense.

When an Amish man is shunned and suffering, he and his 14 yr. old daughter decide it is time to head West. The ensuing trip is fraught with unthinkable hardships, dangers, illness and death. The author is very careful to develop the characters who make up the center of the story, but the rest tends to drag a bit. If this young girl could do all the author says she did, then she is the indisputable heroine. The Amish community they left behind is never mentioned again in the book, nor is the wagon train's final destination...but where the author leaves off, one has a fairly good gut knowledge of the rest of the story.

All Alone

Have you ever had to choose between your loving father and the place you have lived for your whole life? Meribah Simon has. She lived in an Amish community her whole life, but now has left her home to search for gold with her father. On April 1,1849,Meribah and her father leave Holly Springs, Pennsylvania, to start their journey. Traveling in a covered wagon, they join the train and meet all kinds of people. Meribah becomes friends with Serena Billings, a rich girl traveling with her family. While Meribah draws, Serena paints. Not all the people are nice though. The Timm brothers are always making trouble. They meet up with some Indians but they just want to trade. One day Serena goes on a walk with Mr. Wickham. The Timm brothers go too, and something awful happens. At first no one will tell Meribah what happened and Serena will not speak to anyone. Finally Meribah realizes what happened and tries to help Serena get better. But she does not get better and one day just wanders off, never seen again. Her mother, wanting to find Serena, also leaves, never found.
In August, Meribah's father gets sick. Meribah has to do most of the work, with some help from others. Then the Whitings get sick and Meribah and her father stay behind with them while the train moves on. Then the Whitings decide not to go on, so Meribah and her father move on. Finally they catch up. Then they crash and their stronger ox, Josie, dies. They are left behind to live on their own. They make home in a cave, and Will tells Meribah how to fix the wagon. Then someone comes to the rescue. It is Mr. Goodnough, an artist Meribah met in Saint Joseph. They join his wagon train and are on their way again. After awhile, Goodnough decides to stay back with Meribah because her father cannot make it.
After a couple of weeks Goodnough decides to go get help. Soon after he leaves, Meribah's father dies. Meribah is alone.
This book is good, but spread out too long. I think True North, another book by the same author, was better. It was more compact.

This book is pretty bad, and it's really really wierd. If you enjoy wierd stories where you can't keep track of anyone's name (unless you read it more then once, and who would want to?) and everyone dies or dissapears, this is the book for you! Of course, who likes stories like that???? I liked the middle fairly well, but at the end, I didn't like it at all!!!!! The only reason I finished it was because I had to do a report on it for school. I told my teacher that the book was bad, and other kids did too. We got her to read it, and that decided her. She didn't like it either. Next year, she's going to do something different. Hooray!!!! I don't know a single person who likes this book. No offense to the author, but I don't know why it was published.

I think this book gives a lot of information about life back then. I like how it focuses on one individual's life, but also tells about the other people on the wagon train. I think that it's interesting, exciting, and would hold anyone's attention.

"Beyond the Divde" is a great book, intended for mature readers. Will Simon has been shunned by his Amish community and is planning to go to California. His daughter Meribah travels with him and this is her story on the trip on the emigrant trail during the Gold Rush. They join a company and Meribah becomes friends with a rich girl name Serena Billings. This book is packed with emotion, information, and action. I guarentee that a mature reader, who enjoys or dosen't mind historical fiction, will love this book.

This book was so BORING that I stopped reading it and didn't finish the end. I had to read this book for my summer reading project. It's about this girl named Meribah. She goes with her father when he joins the gold rush because he was shunned from the community.Warning:DO NOT READ THIS BOOK OR YOU'LL NEVER FINISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The book, "Beyond the Divide," is a book, portraying the life of Meribah Simon, an Amish girl from a close-knit Pennsylvanian community. Most of the plot takes place on the trail that Meribah and her father, Will Simon, are traveling on to California for the gold rush. During their long journey, the Simon's come together with other traveling families and become close friends. Between the emigrants, they shared food, labor, and supplies. Meribah meets a girl named Serena, and they become close friends. Along the trail, strange occurances happen and Serena and her mother disappear. These strange occurances caused by the cruelty exemlified by the other travelers. Finally, Meribah and her father are abandoned. During this, Will Simon, the dad, is very sick, and the first snowflakes fall. Meribah knows that only a miracle can save them. Giving this book three stars, would be offering it way too much credit. Since this book was action packed at some parts, I'm giving it two stars, but it was lacking the real experience of migration to the West. So, for future reference, don't read this book because you will be wasting your time. In conclusion, I suggest this book to no one and all the illiterates around the world.