The Frozen Trail [Kindle Edition]

Lisa Dayley (Author)

Book Description

A 2011 and 2012 AMAZON BESTSELLER for Children, THE FROZEN TRAIL is a novella set in the American West. It is written in a simple, clear style, making it suitable for younger readers as well as adults.

In 1856 the Mormon pioneers trekked across the Great Plains in wagon trains and pulling handcarts to find a new home safe from persecution. This is the story of one 18-year-old young woman, Emma Girdlestone of the Willie Handcart Company, who faced starvation, frostbite, and death so she and her family could join their fellow Latter-day Saints in the Salt Lake Valley. This work of historical fiction is dedicated to the members of the Willie Handcart Company. These courageous pioneers displayed commitment and heroism in the face of unbelievably harsh and brutal conditions while en route to Zion. It is especially dedicated to Willie Handcart member, Emma Girdlestone, who left behind a legacy of bravery, fortitude, and faith; and who, 155 years later, managed to change the life of her great-great-granddaughter Lisa Dayley, the author of this book.

"A thrill to read, Lisa Dayley crafts a genuine pioneer story with just the right mix of fact and fiction. You’ll find this book hard to put down." ~Jay Lenkersdorfer, newspaper publisher and columnist

Editorial Reviews

Review

The winter of 1856 was an intensely bitter one, and wind nipped cruelly at the pioneers of the Willie Handcart companies as they trudged their way across the frozen plains. The experiences and hardships faced by the pioneers of those companies is something difficult to put into words, and even more difficult to understand, but Lisa Dayley has somehow done just that. --Weekly News Journal, Mini-Cassia, ID

About the Author

Lisa Dayley lives in Burley, Idaho, with her three children. She is the grandmother of one. An award winning writer and photographer, she has written for both newspapers and magazines throughout the Pacific Northwest. Dayley lived in Okinawa, Japan, for four years and later moved to Denver where she graduated from Metropolitan State College with a degree in Mass Communications and a minor in Creative Writing in 1995. She has been writing since she could pick up a pencil.

Product Details

• File Size: 734 KB
• Print Length: 115 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: WiDo Publishing (July 24, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005DSAR7A
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #172,250 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Capturing the Pioneer Spirit October 3, 2011

By Hannah Garn

Format:Paperback

I personally have been a bit of a critic when it comes to pioneer stories and pioneer fiction. I was able to experience a pioneer trek and be caught in a terrible dust storm for roughly an hour. We had no place to hide but under a tarp spread over our handcarts, and by the time the storm passed, EVERYTHING we had was invaded by obnoxious grains of sand. It's hard for me to imagine what the pioneers must have felt. We had plastic tubs. They had nothing. We went in the summer. Many of them trekked through negative weather with piercing winds. We left only dolls "dead" on the trail. They left actual babies. Sons and daughters, mothers and fathers. It's hard to put those experiences into words with out minimizing all that they endured. But I feel that Lisa Dayley does a wonderful job of doing just that in her book, "The Frozen Trail." Based of journal entries and artifacts left by her great-great grandmother, Dayley pieces together a riveting historical fiction novel that puts the readers on the frozen plains with the pioneers. Definitely buy this book and give it a try!

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars disappointing February 18, 2012

By Aloha

Format:Kindle Edition

I was disappointed. Initially, I looked forward to reading about the pioneers trek, but after an hour's reading - the book just ended. They reached Zion- period. Perhaps the author, who "has been writing since she could pick up a pencil" should have researched the experience more. I thought it a surface rendering of a tragic historical experience. It was a "free" book, so that made the reading less of a waste of time.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Riveting Story...... October 23, 2011

By AuburnTygr

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Wow, what a story! I couldn't put it down until I finished it. I love Pioneer Fiction, the kind detailing daily routines and real life, not just another story leading up to romance like so many Authors today. Lisa Dayley has written an outstanding book based on the true life events of her Ancestors, Mormon Pioneers. The loss and hardships are written in such a way that I felt as if I were there, a part of the scenes.
Fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder "Little House on the Prairie" should love this tale of hardship, loss and triumph.