Catherine's Remembrance From the series: Latter-day Daughters By Carol Lynch Williams Deseret Book, Cinnamon Tree, 1997. Softcover: 90 pages. ISBN: 1-57345-296-3 Suggested retail price: $4.95 (US)
Reviewed by: Linda Adams

This book is one of the Latter-day Daughters series, a series of simple chapter books aimed toward LDS girls ages 7-11, which competes with the nationally popular "American Girls" series. As far as price competition goes, these little paperbacks win hands-down. Hardcover American Girls books retail at $14.95, and the paperback editions are not much less, commanding about $8.95 for a small, 60-80 page book that a fast young reader can go through in a few hours. However, my daughter mentioned to me that she enjoys the Latter-day Daughters books quite a bit, but still finds the American Girls books have "more interesting problems." (I still need to read one to compare for myself, but I'm guessing she means the plots are more complex.) The other advantage American Girls has over this series as a whole is that each character in their series has a set of several books devoted to her, where the Latter-day Daughters series, it appears, has only one book per character. I think this would be a good place to expand, frankly; the stories are short, and the end (of this one, at least) leaves one wanting to know more about what happens "next."

Catherine's Remembrance was a fast read for me; I devoured it in about an hour's time. Rachel, my seven "and three-quarters" year old daughter, read it in about three hours. This was her second Latter-day Daughters book, and my first.

I found it to be an exciting story that kept moving from the very beginning. Carol Williams writes well, crafting a solid story in few words, giving just enough vivid details to give readers a good impression of how things looked and felt. It is concise, tight writing, but has a good, easy flow to it, so that it moves fast and keeps one turning the pages. Her characters are well and vividly drawn.

It tells the story of Catherine, a twelve-year old girl in Nauvoo during the February 1846 crossing of the Missouri river, and takes place as her family prepares to leave Nauvoo. The main conflict of the story is Catherine's uncertainty about leaving. She has moved with her family frequently and is longing to settle down and be able to stay in Nauvoo. She questions her parents' faith, that has constantly uprooted them, and wonders whether she will ever have the testimony that they do, which is that the Church is true and they are doing the right thing by leaving once again.

The title is derived from two matching "remembrance" boxes her father made for her and her mother. Catherine's is nearly empty as she loads it into her family's wagon, and she wonders if she will ever have anything useful enough to remember, to cling to.

Here is an example from the book that describes Catherine's sometimes headstrong nature, and shows how Williams is remarkably able to sum up people and situations vividly without many words:

     "Perhaps this trip west will change your spirit some, so that you'll show a bit more obedience to your elders," [Aunt Millie said.]
     I jumped to my feet, ready to spout out the anger that bubbled up inside me. . . . Then I saw Ma's and Pa's faces. . . .
     I closed my eyes for a moment and then, opening them, looked right at Aunt Millie and said, "I hope you sleep well, Auntie. I hope that Uncle Ford won't snore too loud this night."
     Surprise moved across Aunt Millie's face. I hurried quick with what I was saying. "I only know that he snores because I heard you talking once at the Sunday meeting."
     Aunt Millie's mouth dropped open. "Why, you were eavesdropping."
     "No ma'am. I was standing with a group of my friends. You were talking so loud everyone heard it. Some of the girls laughed, but not me. I've seen Uncle Ford napping in your front room. So I do wish things get better with him. Maybe you have some herbs that would stop his snores."
     Aunt Millie straightened her shoulders and started to say something, but I spoke again.
     "And I hope, too, that those warts on your knees have dissolved to nothing. Maybe that poultice worked."
     Aunt Millie's mouth flapped. Then she turned on her heel and, without even a good-bye to Ma and Pa, left. When the door closed, my folks turned on me together.
     "Catherine Olive Hansen," Ma said. (17-18)

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****SPOILER ALERT:**** I'm going to spill the end of the story here, because I believe it ought to be discussed, so anyone who is planning to read this book and doesn't want to know the ending ought to skip the next paragraph.

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I was a bit surprised, however, to find out that Catherine's mother dies in childbirth in the second-to-last chapter of the story. I found it unusual (and in a strange way, refreshing, even though I admit to shedding tears!) for a children's book to forgo the Disney-like happy ending and tell the story as it really was during that time period. This scenario was quite common at the time of the Nauvoo Exodus, and many children in truth lost their mothers this way. There are no graphic details included about labor or childbirth or death that would be gruesome or nightmarish to a young reader. I felt it fit the book well, and my only complaint is that its occurrence so near the end of the book didn't leave much time for us to find out what happens to Catherine after such a significant life event, as she crosses the plains while caring for her new baby sister. I wasn't quite ready for the story to end when it did. I would very much like to read a sequel about her and the adventures she had after the events of crossing the freezing Missouri.

It is interesting that her mother's death occurs just as Catherine is beginning to find her own testimony. This is where she changes the most. Before, she has been headstrong, willful, and ready to turn back, but as she receives a feeling of peace in her heart, she catches the vision her parents have and understands that "All will be well," remembering her mother's last words to her. For me, it was almost too fast of a turnaround for her character; but the elements are clearly there that show how the Spirit changes her heart, gently and simply. Besides, for this genre, there is a need to keep the story short and fairly simple, so I felt that overall the subject was handled well enough to be believable. For example, Catherine is sent to bed in the wagon while her mother labors to deliver the baby in a nearby makeshift tent, and finally falls asleep. Then she says:

     "I woke before morning though I wasn't sure why. Except for the sound of the rain, the camp was still.... I thought of Ma. A peaceful feeling filled up my heart. It was such a big feeling that I had to gasp to take in a breath. It was there only a minute.
     "It's true," I said, to the dark. "Ma and Pa are right." Shivers covered my arms and legs. (67)

In the following pages, she learns of what has transpired during the night, and through her tears and pain afterwards, the peaceful feeling stays with her, and this helps her immensely as she begins to care for her new baby sister.

***END OF SPOILER PASSAGE***

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Even though I really liked the book, I'm going to give it one minus point for its handling of the "Glossary" section in the back. All of the words in the glossary are marked in the text, the first time a possibly unfamiliar term is used, with an asterisk. (For example, in the first above quoted passage, the word "poultice" was marked.) This was distracting to me. I don't know if it would be as distracting to a child. (In fact, Rachel tells me she didn't even notice the "stars" while she was reading, but did use the glossary to look up unfamiliar words.) Also, some of the terms marked with an asterisk were illustrated with a small black and white drawing right next to the word in the text, so this method felt slightly redundant. I think having a glossary in the back is a very good idea, since it explained terms such as "in a family way" and "buttonhook" which are now archaic. But I also felt that (going by my own child's vocabulary), many of the definitions were probably unnecessary, such as explaining the phrases "the oxen were yoked together*" (p. 29) and "the canvas wagon cover*" (p. 38) -- most Primary age LDS children have seen pictures of oxen and covered wagons, and are at least somewhat familiar with these terms. Also, in second and third grades (which is the age and approximate grade level this book is aimed towards), figuring out vocabulary by context is a commonly taught skill. I'd rather see readers of this age and (or) skill level work a little to sort it out by context (or if necessary, find and use a real dictionary).

It's also true that children don't mind flipping back and forth in this way as much as (many) adults would, and frequently find this kind of feature sort of fun. My opinion may be colored simply by the fact I'm now a boring old grown-up. So, that's a very small, picky minus point, and overall the book was a wonderful read about a plucky young pioneer girl that many of today's young girls will very easily relate to.

If your child has a very sensitive nature, it may be wise to tell them this is a "sad ending" book before they read it, so they are prepared for it. There isn't really anything on the cover text that foreshadows the depth of their "trials," though as an experienced reader and writer I picked up on clear foreshadowing during the story's progress. My daughter, Rachel, didn't seem to be adversely affected by the ending at all, though she does make a mild comment about it in her review (below.)

This is a touching story of a little girl's faith as she takes on new challenges and trials. I enjoyed reading it very much. It is most definitely a recommendable book, both for children and adults, and well worth the small cover price.

Linda P. Adams
adamszoo@sprintmail.com

Book Review of Catherine's Remembrance by Rachel Adams, age 7 3/4

I liked this book. It was a good book. It's about a twelve-year old girl that has to leave her home. My favorite part was the very end chapter. It's exciting. All the traveling made it exciting. The most exciting part was Ma had a baby. But after she had the baby it's not so happy. I got scared when they crossed the Mississippi river. I loved this book. Other Primary girls would like this book.