Imagine Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm meets The Addams Family in Brigham Young's Utah, and you get an idea of what kind of a ride this book is.

From the first page, I didn't quite know what to make of this story. The Kennington family has been called by the Brethren to leave Parowan and establish a new colony in the desert. Ebenezer is the father of the family. It isn't clear that he's done anything notable other than invent a machine and shakes, makes noise, and produces a foul odor, much to the delight of the purchasers of his machine. His wife, Hazel, is much more sober-minded, not much given to triviality or humor. After Eb and Hazel are killed by a bear, their daughters -- Sarah Grace, Elizah and Emmeline -- are taken in by various families in the colony. But they all ultimately leave their adopted homes, return to their homestead to properly bury their parents, and pick up life as close to normal as possible.

Each girl has a special talent. Sarah Grace, the eldest, is a raving beauty, pursued by a young man from town (to her annoyance). Elizah has the ability of talking to animals. (The irony of naming her Elizah, and thinking, naturally, of Dr. Doolittle, making her "Elizah Doolittle," did not escape me, although I don't know if it was deliberate.) Finally, the youngest, Emmeline, is skilled at making beautiful objects from beads, a talent that would bring some misery to their little family.

Trouble begins when a mysterious Native American woman visits Emmeline. She moves like the wind, leaving no tracks. The other girls think Emmeline is imagining this woman. But the woman, named Kuiceyetsa, is being pursued by an evil spirit, and she and the girls are in danger. Together they must face the enemy and overcome.

Along the way, we meet some eccentric characters. Several of the women in the colony seem a little batty. Elizah's "friends" -- a man who can change into a boy, a lion and an eagle who obey her commands -- help fill out a picture of a story set in an historical setting, but clearly populated by characters of the imagination.

Although I liked the book, I thought it was much too brief. So many threads remain unresolved. I wanted to know just what Eb Kennington's machine was actually used for. And, in the opening pages, Eb is shown to be a man of great wit and sarcasm, much to the dismay of his devout spouse. I would have liked to learn more about him. Further, as the story is drawn from local legend, I certainly would have liked to know more about these legends. The book could have been double in size, and it would have remained a good tale.

One further note: there are several incidents of pretty graphic violence in this book. I tried to put myself in the place of a young child hearing this story, and wondered if a narrator wouldn't have to tone it down a bit.

It is the habit of many publishers to indicate the "genre" of a book in the upper-left-hand corner of the back cover. "Fiction/Magical Realism" is how this book is described. I have no idea what "Magical Realism" is about. There's certainly a lot of magic in this book. And it teaches some good lessons about community -- no matter how batty the neighbors are -- and about the importance of family and friends. At times the imagination soars, something every child, and every adult, should appreciate as a special gift.

It should also be noted that, although the families are Mormon, I didn't find any explicit Mormonism in the book, other than an occasional reference to Brigham Young. The "Mormonism" was consigned, much like the characters, to the imagination.

Mr. Anderson has written a fine, but too brief, story. I hope he opts to enlarge it and fill in some of the gaps. I will be the first to read the new book.

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Jeff Needle
June 9, 2004