Valley of the Shadow (Dakota Moons Series #1) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Stephanie Grace Whitson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 21, 2004

Book 1 in the Dakota Moons Series

Eighteen-year-old Genevieve LaCroix carries in her blood the proud heritage of a Dakota warrior and a French aristocrat. But when Gen arrives at Renville mission for education, she learns that her heritage is not valued in the changing world created by new white immigrants. When the Minnesota Sioux Uprising destroys the world she has known and threatens the people she loves most, Gen begins to question everything she has been taught about God.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Evenhanded and lively portrayals of Christian missionaries and Dakota Indians distinguish this novel by the author of the popular Prairie Wind series. Genevieve LaCroix is a blue-eyed "half-breed," the daughter of a Sioux mother and a French father. At age 18, she is sent to live with a missionary couple, the Reverend Dane and his wife, Ellen. "Gen" befriends Ellen Dane (who is based on the real-life Minnesota settler Mary Ann Longley Riggs), but dislikes her husband, who, she believes, has only disdain for Indian customs. Death haunts the story: Ellen dies in childbirth (as does the baby, her third), and dozens of men are murdered when, in 1862, the Sioux rise up against their white neighbors. Gen risks her life to save the Danes' two surviving children. After the violence abates, the Rev. Dane confesses that he has fallen in love with Gen; his transformation from a removed, austere patriarch to a loving, emotive nurturer is surprisingly convincing. The religious themes are clear enough to please Christian readers, but subtle enough that they won't be off-putting to others. Fans of prairie fiction will be grateful that Whitson refrains from populating her pages with every important historical figure who set foot in the West during the 1860s, and that she spares us tedious attempts at folksy dialect. Instead, she serves up believable and sympathetic characters, conveying the atrocities that Americans of European descent committed against Native Americans without losing sight of the settlers' complicated, and often benevolent, motives. The ending, though not a stunning surprise, is far from the predictable conclusion featured in most historical romances.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 436 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press (June 21, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786263598
• ISBN-13: 978-0786263592
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,302,556 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Writing is something I've always done. . . not something I ever expected to do as a job. Back in the early 1990's when I was home schooling my four children and we began our state history unit, I became fascinated with the lives of the pioneer women who settled the west. Fascination led to research and "playing with imaginary friends." I sent off my first query letter largely as an exercise in anticipated rejection. Much to my amazement, instead of being rejected I was given a three book contract. In hind-sight, I believe God was providing a career for the day when my husband of 28 years would die (of cancer in 2001). I once worried about whether or not I would run out of ideas. Now I am more concerned about picking WHICH stories I should spend my time developing. I'm not going to live forever and I don't want to waste a moment on things that are less than the BEST pursuits.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Can't wait for the sequel!, February 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Valley of the Shadow (Dakota Moons Series #1) (Paperback)

Beautiful Genevieve LaCroix is eighteen years old when her father brings her to Renville mission in Minnesota to receive an education from Rev. Samuel and Ellen Dane, the white missionaries struggling in their ministry to the Dakota in that area. Daughter of a French nobleman and granddaughter of a valiant Dakota warrior, Gen is frustrated by Rev. Dane's unspoken inferences that all things Dakota are "bad." Mrs. Whitson weaves together the strands of Gen's discovery of faith, her love for Two Stars, a Dakota warrior (and his separate journey to faith), and Rev. Dane's spitiual odyssey as he learns to reach out to the Dakota with love rather than pride against the backdrop of the Minnesota Sioux Uprising of 1862 and the year or so preceeding it. Gen, Ellen, Rev. Dane, and Two Stars each have their own path through the Valley of the Shadow; and this tale takes the reader along with each of them as they suffer and triumph. This story is told with great sensitivity and respect for the Native Americans who were defrauded of their lands to allow the great rush for cheap land. Valley of the Shadow is a gripping tale on its own; but reading Mrs. Whitson's excerpt from the sequel at the end of the book makes me more than anxious to read Book 2 of the Dakota Moons Series!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting, dramatic Christian love story, March 17, 2001

By 

Bonnie McKinzie (Garden Grove, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Valley of the Shadow (Dakota Moons Series #1) (Paperback)

Valley of the Shadow, the first book in the Dakota Moons series, is set in a sad time of Indian history, and is an exciting, emotional and mysterious story of missionaries to the Dakota Indians.

Simon and Ellen Dane and their two children are serving as early missionaries. The historical focuses on the good and the bad Indians, Dakota and Sioux and the white man's attempt to reach them with the Gospel.

The central character is a half- breed Dakota girl, Genevieve LaCroix. She is pulled between her loyalties to the whites, the Indians and the missionaries. Whitson very thoroughly depicts the complicated relationship between the white missionaries and the Indians. Land, heritage, religion and culture enters into the clash which results in horrible bloodshed on all sides.

A haunting love story unfolds between Gen (Blue Eyes) and a young, energetic activist Dakota, Two Stars. Fighting to remain a brave and strong warrier, Two Stars becomes a changed man due to the influence of the Christian missionaries. His best friend, Otter, now becomes his arch enemy and is central in the attempt to destroy his future with Blue Eyes.

Central to the books' violence and heartbreak is the great Minnesota Sioux Uprising.Turncoats are common among both Indian and white and survival depends on not only age and phyical strength, location and weapons, but whom you trust and who trusts you.

A beaded necklace with a cross in the middle keeps reminding Gen of her Indian heritage and binds her to the handsome Dakota warrior, Two Stars. However, Gen and her 2 charges are captured by unfriendly Indians. Two Stars risks his life repeatedly for the whites, the good Indians and for his love, Blue Eyes (Gen).

A fast moving love story that survives the impossible suddenly has the bottom drop out and leaves the reader in tears - hoping....and waiting for Book 2 in this series, "Edge of the Wilderness."

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Historical Romance With A Higher Calling!, April 10, 2001

By 

Lisa Samson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Valley of the Shadow (Dakota Moons Series #1) (Paperback)

An engaging tale of Romans 8:28. Stephanie Grace Whitson creates a haunting story of hope in the midst of death, peace in the midst of war, comfort in the midst of loneliness. An encouragement to anyone walking in their own valley of shadows. --Lisa Samson, author of The Church Ladies.