Written in Blood

Gr 8 Up—"This is a world whose history is written in blood" 16-year-old Jim Doolen observes as he makes his way across Arizona toward the Mexican border. The year is 1877, and Jim has traveled from his home in British Columbia to find his father, who left 10 years earlier, leaving behind only a cryptic note referencing a shadowy past and a hacienda owned by a Don Alfonzo Ramirez. Jim's journey causes him to cross paths with bandits, an Apache warrior, and other colorful figures, all of whom share stories of their experiences on the brutal, violent frontier—a history, Jim comes to realize, that is inextricably tied to his own search. The tensions among American, Mexican, and Native factions are well drawn, and Wilson pulls no punches regarding the cruelty of the new world into which Jim finds himself thrown. However, the slow start and somewhat meandering narrative may make this a difficult sell to anyone but dedicated Western and historical-fiction fans.—Christi Esterle, Parker Library, CO