Early one morning in the year 1754 the stillness of Charlestown, New Hampshire, was shattered by shrill war whoops and the terror of an Indian raid. Young Miriam Willard, on a day which had promised new happiness, found herself instead a captive on a forest trail, caught up in the ebb and flow of the French and Indian War.

It was a horrowing march north. Miriam could only force herself to the next stopping place, the next small portion of food, the next icy stream to be crossed. What waits at the end of the trail--besides an Indian quantlet and a life of slavery?

Based on an actual narrative.

A coming of age story. A young woman and her family are taken from their home, to a Indian village, separated, sold to the French, ransomed, and return home. ( )

Excellent. Speare really knows how to write people of all sorts. The young Puritan(? Protestant, anyway) woman, the Indians who capture her (and make assumptions), her patient and stubborn sister (also captured), the noble and common folk of Montreal they end up with... There are fools, and cruel people, and decent people, and kind people in every group, and Speare manages to show all of them as...just people, doing what they think is right. The story is good, though I thought Marian was rather frivolous-minded every chance she got. Well, she's a teenager, she's more or less entitled to that particular form of idiocy - and she did manage a solution that kept them going as long as they needed to. Good story, worth reading, probably worth rereading. ( )

It's hard to describe what about this book so beautifully captures the feel of the places and interactions it describes. It took me back to my days of tramping through forests and gave me the opportunity to vicariously experience frontier life in such a memorable way.
The main character starts out somewhat shallow and self-focused, but her character arc is what holds the story together and what kept me glued to the pages as I read the book cover to cover in a morning. It's that transformation, how the main character dealt with loss and loneliness, how her attitude toward people changed, how she put her skills to use for those she cared about that made the book what it is. She starts out drawn to shiny things, but the author makes sure the redeemable aspects of her character perk through the immaturity.
As with nearly every book, however, there are things to sift through. I wouldn't give this to a younger reader unless they are old enough to discern what should not be emulated and if the content issues mentioned later aren't an issue.
There's a shift away from materialism here, but to me it seems the mc goes from one extreme to another, from finding happiness in things to finding happiness in people. For one, it's a lot of pressure on the other person to be someone else's happiness, and it's just not lasting. Also, there were some things with relationships and religion that might not be suitable for younger readers as well. But since this book is geared towards younger readers, the author glossed over the scenes with childbirth, innuendo, and such. And the theme of valuing people above "shiny things" is laudable.
I can't say, however, that this is an accurate representation of the people the author used for inspiration. It seemed she took parts and changed people to fit her story, so it should be read as fiction, not as the story of the people whose names she borrowed.

And finally, here's a quote that portrays Miriam's character quite well:

"There is something you can do," she said soberly. "If you really want to help me. No one will listen. Can you get me into the jail to visit my sister?"
Pierre stared at her. Then suddenly he threw back his head and laughed so loudly that a passing Frenchman paused in the street and peered in through the doorway.
"What a girl!" He exclaimed. "Offer her a dress, invite her to a party, and what does she want instead - to go to jail." ( )

Like many other readers I had this book over and over from the library when I was growing up. Some 40 years later I got myself a copy (ex library to my delight) from abebooks and re-read it. Oddly my memories of the book have hardly been touched by the later reading - I can still remember how I felt about it 40 years ago (identifying deeply with quite a few of the characters, not just the main girl) but hardly remember how I felt a few months ago reading it again. ( )