Waiting for Deliverance [Paperback]

Betsy Urban (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2000

In 1783, orphaned fourteen-year-old Livy and her cousin Ephraim are taken in by a woodsman and his family, including a young Seneca man who changes Livy's attitudes toward the Indians she was raised to hate and fear.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up-Leaving Massachusetts for barbaric western New York in 1793 is horrible enough. But when the rest of their family drowns in an accident, 14-year-old Deliverance (Livy) Pelton and her cousin are sold at a Pauper's Auction. Their new master, Gideon Gunn, was adopted by Seneca Indians as a child. Livy's inbred antagonism toward Indians is challenged as she becomes acquainted with Gunn's brother, Rising Hawk, and then is taken to a Seneca village to teach the women how to spin. An accusation of witchcraft causes Livy and Rising Hawk to flee just as angry settlers attack Gunn and burn his house. All obstacles are overcome, and at book's end Livy accepts Rising Hawk's offer of marriage. Waiting for Deliverance has immense potential. Unfortunately, it falls short. Urban can't seem to decide whose story she's telling; she continually switches point of view. Characterization is based on stereotypes and superficialities, rather than in-depth study. Livy is the heroine, but most of what readers learn about her comes from other people's observations, and they never fully understand her; her actions and statements rarely plunge below the surface, and consequently appear meaningless, inconsistent, or unfounded. The story is also bogged down with explanations and unnecessary detail-the history doesn't flow. Finally, the plot smacks a bit too much of 21st-century political correctness.
Ann W. Moore, Schenectady County Public Library, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 186 pages
• Publisher: Orchard Books (NY); Uncorrected Proof edition (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531303101
• ISBN-13: 978-0531303108
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,877,963 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A historical novel for teens that delivers., June 19, 2000

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Waiting for Deliverance (Paperback)

Orphaned at birth, Deliverance "Livy" Pelton has lived all of her fourteen years with her aunt, uncle, and cousins. When her uncle decides to move the family west in 1793, Livy just wants to stay in New England. Her fears are justified: her aunt, uncle, and all of her cousins except for one drown in a river accident. She and her cousin, Ephraim, who is a few years younger than her, are bound out as indentured servants to a homesteader raised by Indians. Livy is supposed to help out his wife and care for the children. But she ends up being sent to educate a village of Indians, the ones that raised her master, how to spin cloth. As the time passes, she begins to wonder if she is falling in love with nineteen-year-old Rising Hawk, her master's brother by adoption. Livy is determined never to marry - her mother died birthing her. But she may have to listen to her heart instead of her head for once. And when her survival depends on it, she may have to trust her life to Rising Hawk. This was a wonderfully written historical novel that I reccomend to teenagers who enjoy stories set in the past.

5.0 out of 5 stars It certainly delivered..., August 18, 2006

By 

L. Hurley "The Hurlinater" (Kingston, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Waiting for Deliverance (Paperback)

I'm eighteen years old and while this book is clearly below my reading level, I have found myself going back to it again and again. The story is so touching and the characters are brought to life by Urban's capable hand.
I felt that I could really delve in Livy and Rising Hawk's life, as if I knew them personally. And Gideon and Shadow and all the rest were equally wonderful.
I loved how Livy has the guts to put the blame on herself in the end, and take the shame that her entire community places on her, for Rising Hawk's sake. I loved how she refuses to let Rising Hawk take her virtue, even as she fought back her feelings for him. I loved how even after she had rejected him, Rising Hawk gathers the courage to face another rejection and still goes after her.
Waiting for Deliverance is most definately one of my favorite books. I highly recommend it.

3.0 out of 5 stars It's okay but just barrow it from the library., March 28, 2006

By 

Animal Lover - See all my reviews

This review is from: Waiting for Deliverance (Paperback)

I am 17 years old. 3 stars. This book is good but it has some really sick parts. The girl was really mean to the guy in the beginning but he still loved her and thats why I liked the book. Some of the gross parts were when the guys out in the woods caught the older guy and plucked out his eyeball. That was really gross. They didn't need to describe how they plucked out his eyeballs. It was kind of scary too because at one point the people thought that the girl was a witch. I liked this book because it had the boy and girl liking eachother and their problems.