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Daughters of the Faith #4
Ransom's Mark: A Story Based on the Life of the Young Pioneer Olive Oatman
Daughters of the Ordinary Girls Who Lived Extraordinary Lives. When 13-year-old Olive Oatman's wagon train is raided by outlaw Yavapai Indians, she and her sister are captured. After enduring harsh treatment, they are ransomed by a band of Mohaves. Olive struggles to adjust to her new life, but finds comfort in her faith and in an unexpected friendship. When the time comes for her to return to the previous world she once knew, she is afraid she will never fit in. But she learns to see the Mohave design tattooed on her chin as a sign of God's love and deliverance, a mark of ransom.
144 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2003
3 people are currently reading
238 people want to read
About the author
Wendy Lawton
24 books28 followersWendy Lawton, award-winning writer, sculptor, and doll designer, founded the Lawton Doll Company in 1979.
Lawton is a long-time lover of classic Christian literature. She has written eight books in her young adult Daughters of the Faith series. These books were followed by a series of four teen books and a nonfiction adult book. She won the 1999 Writer of the Year Award at the Mount Hermon Christian Writer’s Conference. She also won the famous Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest for the intentional worst first line of a novel in the Children’s Literature category.
Lawton received an honorary Doctor of Arts and Letters degree on January 18, 2004, from Wilmington College, located in New Castle, Delaware.
She and Keith, her husband of 30 years, are the parents of three. They reside in Hilmar, California, where they farm 30 acres of almonds and care for two dogs, an aged goose, and five elderly cats.
Lawton is the Vice President of Books and Such Literary Management. See their website here.
Lawton is a long-time lover of classic Christian literature. She has written eight books in her young adult Daughters of the Faith series. These books were followed by a series of four teen books and a nonfiction adult book. She won the 1999 Writer of the Year Award at the Mount Hermon Christian Writer’s Conference. She also won the famous Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest for the intentional worst first line of a novel in the Children’s Literature category.
Lawton received an honorary Doctor of Arts and Letters degree on January 18, 2004, from Wilmington College, located in New Castle, Delaware.
She and Keith, her husband of 30 years, are the parents of three. They reside in Hilmar, California, where they farm 30 acres of almonds and care for two dogs, an aged goose, and five elderly cats.
Lawton is the Vice President of Books and Such Literary Management. See their website here.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
March 11, 2019
Oh my, even though this book was so sad, I still loved it and would read again within a heartbeat.
March 3, 2013
Wendy Lawton has again written a moving, historically sound biographical history of a young girl from the early pioneer days of the United States. When her father decides to move west with friends it isn't a simple trek across the county line. It entails completely uprooting the family, selling possessions, walking exhausting miles across dry parched land as well as seeing the beauty of the countryside in full bloom.
It means doing without enough to eat and drink and not having the privacy for basic bodily needs. It means the fear of hostile Indians from tribal groups. And it finally means facing a future without her family when they were all massacred by renegade Indians and only she and one younger sister were spared.
Wendy Lawton has graced this book with a good glossary so parents and teachers can readily teach the historical terms. The age for which this moving story is written is 8 to 11. However, for the very sensitive child, I would recommend perhaps ages 10 to 13. Portions are very intense. I highly recommend this book as well as others in the Daughters of the Faith series by Wendy Lawton for the home, school, and church library. For more about this series CLICK HERE.
Other books by Wendy Lawton reviewed on Chat With Vera are: Shadow of His Hand, The Captive Princess, and Almost Home.
DISCLOSURE: I was provided a complimentary copy of Ransoms' Mark by Moody Publishers on behalf of the author in exchange for my honest review. Opinions expressed are solely my own.
It means doing without enough to eat and drink and not having the privacy for basic bodily needs. It means the fear of hostile Indians from tribal groups. And it finally means facing a future without her family when they were all massacred by renegade Indians and only she and one younger sister were spared.
Wendy Lawton has graced this book with a good glossary so parents and teachers can readily teach the historical terms. The age for which this moving story is written is 8 to 11. However, for the very sensitive child, I would recommend perhaps ages 10 to 13. Portions are very intense. I highly recommend this book as well as others in the Daughters of the Faith series by Wendy Lawton for the home, school, and church library. For more about this series CLICK HERE.
Other books by Wendy Lawton reviewed on Chat With Vera are: Shadow of His Hand, The Captive Princess, and Almost Home.
DISCLOSURE: I was provided a complimentary copy of Ransoms' Mark by Moody Publishers on behalf of the author in exchange for my honest review. Opinions expressed are solely my own.
January 10, 2021
This story is amazing! I am amazed how God used people who didn’t know Him in the life of someone who did. I read this aloud to my kids. They never wanted me to stop reading.
March 1, 2010
Olive Oatman is thirteen years old in the fall of 1850 when her father decides the family will leave their Illinois farm and go west to California. Olive, her parents, and her six siblings join a wagon train west, but have trouble from the start. Their leader turns out to be unreliable, and changes their destination. The wagon train splits several times, until the Oatmans eventually end up on their own in dangerous Indian territory, because her father is unwilling to wait at the safety of a village for another wagon train to join. Olive fears the worst will happen, and she is right. Renegade Indians attack the Oatmans and massacre most of the family, sparing only Olive and her seven-year-old sister, Mary Ann, who they take captive. Olive struggles to keep up hope during her captivity and to adjust to her difficult new life, all the while trying her best to protect frail Mary Ann.
This was an very good historical novel for middle grade readers that brought to life the true story of Olive Oatman. Readers who enjoy historical fiction, particularly those who have an interest in this time period or in Indian captive stories, are sure to enjoy this book.
This was an very good historical novel for middle grade readers that brought to life the true story of Olive Oatman. Readers who enjoy historical fiction, particularly those who have an interest in this time period or in Indian captive stories, are sure to enjoy this book.
October 21, 2011
I think that this book is another of Wendy's masterpieces. Her books are some of my historical "ficton", though they really happened.
When Olive and Mary Ann were captured, I admire how they never, even though Mary Ann knew she was going to die, lost their hope in and of God. (Love, too.) I do feel very sorry that she was capture by the Yavaipai Indians, but I was EXTREMEMLY happy the the peaceful Mohaves rescured them, and they weren't slaves. I think that this book is one of the best of Wendy's that I've read. But the top on my favorites list is Wendy's "The Tinker's Daughter". It really applied to my life, somehow. I love all of Wendy's book, though. And I want to get the last two that have been published REALLY BADLY!!!!! I love you, Wendy Lawton!
When Olive and Mary Ann were captured, I admire how they never, even though Mary Ann knew she was going to die, lost their hope in and of God. (Love, too.) I do feel very sorry that she was capture by the Yavaipai Indians, but I was EXTREMEMLY happy the the peaceful Mohaves rescured them, and they weren't slaves. I think that this book is one of the best of Wendy's that I've read. But the top on my favorites list is Wendy's "The Tinker's Daughter". It really applied to my life, somehow. I love all of Wendy's book, though. And I want to get the last two that have been published REALLY BADLY!!!!! I love you, Wendy Lawton!
January 29, 2014
This was an extremely interesting read, all the more so when one considered that it was based largely on historical fact. I loved the way the author integrated Christian teaching on big questions (e.g. why does God allow suffering)into the book but without letting it interfere with the flow of the story, something that few historical-fiction Christian writers I have read so far manage to do. While clearly aimed at a younger reader (ideal for someone aged around 12/13) it still made an insightful read and is a book I'll certianly be recommending to others.
April 3, 2017
For a story about a girl whose family is massacred and she is taken captive by Indians, this was very well written! This is the true story of Olive Oatman written in such a way that I would hand it to my 10-year-old niece without reservations. The massacre is not descriptive and there are no details of the deaths. (If you are or have a very sensitive reader you might want to use caution as it is a sad story in many places.) Throughout the story is the theme of God's redemption of mankind and how Jesus paid our ransom.
All in all, a story worth reading.
All in all, a story worth reading.
January 31, 2008
This is a really easy read. It's a young adult book about Olive Oatman. Her family was part of a splinter group of the LDS church who tried to move to CA and met with a disastrous end (for some of them) in AZ by Wickenburg. The story is fascinating, and it spurred me to read more about the true story.
August 2, 2009
I read this book because it was based on a true story. This pioneer girl leaves IL. with her family to seek out a better life in CA. Indians kill most of her family and take her and a sister captive. There are times Olive questions why God allowed her to be a captive and her sister to die, but in the end she gives God the glory and lives a full life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2014
Interesting take on the Olive Oatman narrative. I was slightly dubious about the Christian teaching aspect of the novel at first as I was worried it would detract from Olive's personal journey. However the passages questioning/explaining theories on God were weaved quite seamlessly into the text and had I not read other accounts of her life before this one they wouldn't have been out of place.
November 25, 2015
I read this book when I was young, and cried through it. Horrifyingly sad, but very interesting. It's based on the life of Olive Oatman who was a pioneer with her family. I love historical, so this was a great read.
July 3, 2011
I highly recommend ANY of Wendy Lawton's books. They are wholesome, inspiring, and TRUE!
December 6, 2011
I really enjoyed this book
February 25, 2012
after all of her family dies, except one of her younger sisters, during an indian attack, Olive and her sister are taken capteve, then flipped flopped over to a different tribe.
June 14, 2012
Amazing story exciting with adventure and full of Faith. It was very sad and very realistic to life.
April 27, 2013
This is an incredible true story.
October 6, 2014
So sad!!
April 8, 2023
Number of pages: 135
Genre: Historical Fiction (technically, but it is based on the life of a real person)
Series: Daughters of the Faith; order is irrelevant
Age recommendation: 10-14
Summary: Olive Oatman’s family is moving west, again. Her father has an adventurous spirit and will not be satisfied until he sees California with his own two eyes. But as they travel west, tensions arise, groups split and there is danger lurking around every corner. Will the Oatmans ever make it to their “Promised Land”?
My thoughts: I love this book, although I do wonder how much of the story is true (because technically it is a fictional story, but it is based on a real person – Olive Oatman – and her life’s adventures). Regardless of its accuracy, it is still a very interesting and well-written story. Out of the entire Daughters of the Faith series, this and Shadow of His Hand are my two favourites; hands down, the best books in the series.
Just as a heads-up, the story is pretty sad but it’s still really interesting and well-written.
Ransom’s Mark is one of the best I’ve read by way of attempting to be respectful of Native Americans while still remaining historically accurate. While the author often calls them “Indians” she does her best to call them by their tribal names (how they would identify, rather than a European corruption).
Topeka is definitely my favourite character; I wonder if she ever got saved? It would be cool to see her in heaven someday. She is brave, strong and powerful. She is also intelligent and well-respected. I admire her courage and kindness, even to her slaves. She treats Olive and MaryAnn as sisters rather than property. I think she was an amazing woman.
I love how Olive explains about a substitution ransom, that another person, greater than the first can take their place. This is compared to what Jesus did for us when He died on the cross. We couldn’t be with God, because He is Holy, and we are sinners (God can’t have sin in His presence. He has to punish wrong because He is just). But Jesus came down to earth and ransomed us by taking our place in God’s judgement – the punishment we deserved. He is our substitute. All we have to do is accept the gift. I’m sure it’s explained better in the book, but I thought it was a really cool thought.
My personal rating: 5/5 stars.
Link to blog: https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...
Genre: Historical Fiction (technically, but it is based on the life of a real person)
Series: Daughters of the Faith; order is irrelevant
Age recommendation: 10-14
Summary: Olive Oatman’s family is moving west, again. Her father has an adventurous spirit and will not be satisfied until he sees California with his own two eyes. But as they travel west, tensions arise, groups split and there is danger lurking around every corner. Will the Oatmans ever make it to their “Promised Land”?
My thoughts: I love this book, although I do wonder how much of the story is true (because technically it is a fictional story, but it is based on a real person – Olive Oatman – and her life’s adventures). Regardless of its accuracy, it is still a very interesting and well-written story. Out of the entire Daughters of the Faith series, this and Shadow of His Hand are my two favourites; hands down, the best books in the series.
Just as a heads-up, the story is pretty sad but it’s still really interesting and well-written.
Ransom’s Mark is one of the best I’ve read by way of attempting to be respectful of Native Americans while still remaining historically accurate. While the author often calls them “Indians” she does her best to call them by their tribal names (how they would identify, rather than a European corruption).
Topeka is definitely my favourite character; I wonder if she ever got saved? It would be cool to see her in heaven someday. She is brave, strong and powerful. She is also intelligent and well-respected. I admire her courage and kindness, even to her slaves. She treats Olive and MaryAnn as sisters rather than property. I think she was an amazing woman.
I love how Olive explains about a substitution ransom, that another person, greater than the first can take their place. This is compared to what Jesus did for us when He died on the cross. We couldn’t be with God, because He is Holy, and we are sinners (God can’t have sin in His presence. He has to punish wrong because He is just). But Jesus came down to earth and ransomed us by taking our place in God’s judgement – the punishment we deserved. He is our substitute. All we have to do is accept the gift. I’m sure it’s explained better in the book, but I thought it was a really cool thought.
My personal rating: 5/5 stars.
Link to blog: https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...
October 12, 2018
Olive Oatman is just a normal girl growing up in the 18th century. After her father decides he wants to see the elephant (journey west) her life is changed forever. The journey is hard and long. Most of the people in their wagon train decide to stay in a Mexican town. The Oatman's, are left to journey alone. Only a few weeks after setting off alone, the family experiences an Indian attack. Sadly, everyone dies, leaving Olive and her little sister Mary Ann to survive being held captive by Yavapai Indians. They are held captive for more than two years, until the Mohave Indian tribe pays ransom for them. In order to be protected, they must get a tattoo on their chin and upper arms as mark of ownership to the Mohave. Olive and Mary Ann thought of this as a sign of God's ransom. When a famine comes to the land, Mary Ann starves and dies. The only way Olive lived, was by her strong faith in God. When her sister died, she remembered what her mother said the days before the attack, "God walked with them every step of the way. Five years after loosing her family, she hears that her brother, Lorenzo, survived the attack. In the end, Olive is proud of her ransom mark.
November 17, 2020
An incredible true story with a surprise ending, but it is SO sad. I think I cried in every chapter of the second half of the book. Granted, I have lost a sibling and a niece so I know some of the depth of grief Olive experienced. But it includes Truth with a capital T and I am glad I read this aloud to my 10 year-old daughter. Does reading together about suffering in stories make the harshness of life a little softer, perhaps because we see how these people endure?
May 18, 2021
This was such a great read-aloud! It brought together what we were studying with US geography this year with discussion of the different pioneer trails. And the surprising bonus that Olivia Oatman's mom was originally from our county in NY! The true story of Olivia Oatman is tragic, but you are not left without hope. The gospel message is clearly portrayed and applied in her story. We all loved this read-aloud!
September 29, 2023
This series is really well-written. The author does a great job covering such difficult topics with care and without being unnecessarily graphic. However, the nature of Olive Oatman's "faith" in this story is very vague to me. As a historical biography, loved it. Classifying as a "daughter of the faith" has me 🤔 though.
July 13, 2025
A worthwhile book and all the better that it is a true story. The book is geared toward kids and short so many of the complexities of emotions are not shown. It is rather a simple book with one main theme, but that theme of redemption is a gospel-centered focus that changes lives.
December 15, 2017
Well written. Much more palatable version of the story, as my young daughter wants to read her biography.
December 11, 2018
I l0ved this book.
May 2, 2019
This was a great adventure story. It was a really interesting story and I didn't know (before I read this) that things like what happened in the book really happened in real life!
December 13, 2023
Read for Lasting Liberty homeschool curriculum. I think we all enjoyed it.
May 20, 2025
Violence warning, but great book.
There is a pretty detailed amount of when her family was invaded and killed by Indians.
There is a pretty detailed amount of when her family was invaded and killed by Indians.
July 3, 2025
Fascinating story with a beautiful theme of God's presence and care in suffering.
The author of this series tends to have very stereotyped dialogue, but I appreciate her efforts.
The author of this series tends to have very stereotyped dialogue, but I appreciate her efforts.
April 24, 2025
Possibly my favorite one of this series. This book made me cry and feel allllll the feels!! Such a beautiful and wonderful book!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews