Zoe's Gift By Leslie Beaton Hedley Deseret Book (Salt Lake City). Trade paperback: 227 (large print) pages. ISBN: 0-87579-880-2 Suggested retail price: $12.95 (US) Audience: LDS women
Reviewed by: Jana Bouck Remy

Connie Leavitt's best friend, Zoe, has recently died in a car accident. While grieving Zoe's death, Connie drives out into a rural area near her town and finds an abandoned cemetery of early pioneer saints. Finding out more about the deceased in this cemetery becomes a compulsion for Connie, and helps her to work through her sorrow about Zoe's death.

Hedley admirably attempts to juxtapose chapters of Connie's life with that of Thankful Doane, an early pioneer settler. Both Thankful and Connie have lost their best friend, and struggle with similar feelings of sorrow and regret. As Connie listens to tapes of Thankful's recollections and talks to her descendants, she is able to gain the courage she needs to live the rest of her life.

I was excited about this book as I read the back cover and realized that it would compare the life of a modern-day woman with that of a pioneer (I love pioneer stories), and I felt that this plot held great promise (I also watched "The Making of an American Quilt" last night and expected something with similar emotional impact). However, I have to admit that I was somewhat disappointed.

First of all, the book is much too short. I read it in less than 4 hours. This brevity doesn't allow for good character development. Zoe is completely idealized as a wise, loving and perfect friend. Connie's husband is almost completely callous about her suffering, and nothing is really said about her children. Her visiting teaching companion is "perfect" -- she has a designer house, car, family. etc.

Also, there are points in the book where it becomes "preachy." For example, there is a scene where the Young Women of the ward are having a lesson at the graveyard (led by the perfect visiting teaching companion) where the dialogue sounds more like a seminary video than reality.

Despite its shortcomings, this novel is better than many of this type that I have read. However, if someone is looking for a novel about grief, Refuge is much better. Also, I think that Lund is superior to Hedley in her attempt at historical fiction.

I would really like to hear from others on the list that have read Zoe's Gift. Did you like it? Why or why not?

Jana Bouck Remy
jremy@xmission.com