When the Yellow Mocker Calls

by Lila M Beckham

In the South Carolina Hills, along the Savannah River Watershed, in the fall of 1829, 14-year-old, three-quarter Cherokee, Sahani, whose Christian name is Charity, sets out on a journey with her 83-year-old maternal, white grandfather to Fort Charlotte, for what she thinks is a trip to trade the pelts he has accumulated in order to replenish their supplies. However, Charity soon discovers that her grandfather’s objective in making this trip is to get her married off and settled somewhere. Since her beloved grandmother’s passing several months earlier, her grandfather has worried about what would become of Charity should he, too, pass away. And, given his advanced age, he somehow senses that time is near; he does not want to die and leave young Charity alone and desolate. He and his wife reared Charity after her mother and father both died in a yellow fever epidemic when she was 3 years old. As they travel to Fort Charlotte, her grandfather tells her that before going to Fort Charlotte they will be making an overnight stop at his friend’s house. And, that a year or so earlier, he and his long-time friend, Eli Gulledge, talked about what would happen to Charity should both he and his wife pass away and have arranged for Charity and Eli’s son Henry to meet before that time comes to see if they will take a liking to one another. When Charity, who has never met Eli or his family, hears that, she threatens to act rude in order to make them not like her so that she can go back home with him, but her grandfather tells her that she cannot go back home with him and assures her that if young Henry doesn’t take a liking to her, he is sure that some young buck down in Fort Charlotte will be looking for a wife. Faced with the stark realization that her life is changing and she has no control of that change, many thoughts run through young Charity’s mind- she even contemplates running away, but doesn’t want to leave her grandfather alone. When her grandfather suddenly passes away that night at Eli’s house, that threat never comes to fruition. Young, Charity is forced to abide by her grandfather’s wishes and stay there with Eli’s family… When the Yellow Mocker Calls is based on my great-great-grandmother’s life; her spiritual journey, her never ending quest for knowledge, her love of family and storytelling, and, most importantly, her love for Henry…

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance

582 pages, Paperback

Published March 31, 2016

Reviews

[Diane Newman]

Odd book

This was too odd for me.....too much "spiritual sight. "....I skimmed through to see if improved toward the end.....still odd. If grammar bothers you, the excessive use of unneeded commas will get to you. Go elsewhere.

[Lynn G.]

2.75 *. Needed more editing. For example there were occasional sentences such as (to the best of my memory) "There was distant lightning in the distance." Sometimes the characters spoke a more formal English and other times they were speaking or thinking in more idiomatic language. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason as to what would bring on one style of speaking over the other.

I may have been distracted but I don't recall that when Henry escaped from a jail work team out in the rural farmlands that anything was ever mentioned again about the local sheriff launching a manhunt for him.

The mysticism/magical reality/fantasy, whatever it was, was a bit overdone and hard to suspend disbelief when encountered.

[carol richardson]

What is reality to one person is not necessarily real to another. Spiritual beliefs change with different cultures, but are surprisingly alike in many ways. This book is a demonstration of both of these statements. I enjoy reading about different cultures and belief systems, so I enjoyed the book. Yes there were a few printing and punctuation errors, but so what? It did not affect the story line. Yes, I will read the follow up story about Emmy.

[Mary Prigioni]

Interesting Indian culture

It almost seemed as though two different people wrote this book. Somewhere around the middle of the book the style changed and it became like a "boilerplate" novel. I found myself skipping dialogue and while I finished reading till the end, my interest waned. First half was great, though.

[Cyndie Miller]

I had a hard time not putting the book down unread. If not for the decent storyline, I would not have been able to get past the grammatical and punctuation errors and inconsistencies.

[Cynthia Scott]

The book was very interesting for the lifestyle descriptions of truly backwoods dwellers in the nineteenth century in the south. I also enjoyed the descriptions and experiences of a Cherokee spiritual person with deep roots in that culture, in spite of being raised as a "white." But, the style of the writing was not at all even. Some of it seemed to be written by a real novice novelist who should have paid more attention in her English classes. Other times it read very literately.

There were a lot of pretty serious historical inaccuracies, things Charity talks about seeing or doing that simply did not exist at the time she lived. For instance Kudzu, an invasive plant that has taken over much of the wetlands of the American south was not even introduced into the US until 1876 for the purpose of controlling soil erosion, yet Charity waxes poetical about the beautiful mounds and hanging of Kudzu near Vicksburg in 1864. Lots of other details that also just weren't there when she "lived."

My Kindle version of the book had masses of extra commas and other punctuation errors that seriously impacted my ability to enjoy the reading of the book. I hope the author did not intend them.

[Stroctoperry]

This is geneological fanfic based primarily on census and army records and leaning pretty heavily on what may be the classic "Cherokee princess" 4x-great grandma story. A lot of the details seem to be imagined instead of researched so I would hesitate to call this historical fiction.

It could be best described as Alvin Maker meets Ghost Whisperer but less Mormon and more boring. None of the characters have much of a personality, so there wasn't much driving the narrative. Things just happened (and sometimes they were forgotten so then they happened again).

One thing that really bothered me is that a SA scene is described in much greater detail than any of the consensual sex scenes. It felt a bit tasteless.

[Bonnie]

I enjoyed the book. The mixture of cultures and spiritual beliefs was interesting.
I thought it was odd that her mother didn't teach her more about her background (example: she didn't know her uncle was her uncle - she thought it was her grandfather's friend) and yet she has this profound ability to touch the other side and walk on the wind. I just found that a bit at odds.
The children were interesting, although I did have a hard time keeping everyone straight once they stared marrying off and making their own families - a family tree would be nice. Maybe there is one in the print version, but not in the kindle version.

[KathyB]

When the yellow mocker calls

I don't know how to do a real book review, I only know how to say what I feel about the book. I can tell you that after reading the normal wagon trains west books later in the 1800s, this story beginning in 1829 in northern South Carolina contained more adventure, more suspense, more far out happenings, more enduring characters, more heart wrenching! And they were only going to Alabama. The combination of backwoods clan and Indian superstition! The years covered from 1829 clear up to Civil War! I just finished this book this morning and I have the 2nd book but I will have to let this one settle a bit before moving on.

[alice jump]

Moving story

The way this story engages you is both gentle and like a roller coaster! Character development and growth appears natural thereby leading us into the life and motives of each person! I recommend you read it because it is a good story, but don't be surprised by how much you learn of history and life motives.

[Sarah Ruiz]

When the Yellow Mocker Calls

I really loved this book. It was so interesting that I had a hard time putting this book down . There were several tear-jerking moments. I would have given it a five star rating but there were so many grammatical errors and many misspelled words. Wonderful book, though.

[Lisa]

Gotta read this book

This book was great. As I read i could feel the love and caring that Charity had for her husband and her children. I laugh and cried as I read. The love she also had of her Indian blood just WOW. Thank you for writing this great book. Can't wait to read Emmys Journey.

[Joan A. Watkins]

Beautifully written story

Fantastic read it made you feel like you were right there witnessing everything . I have always been a reader of Indian life. Culture, their ways, their believes. This story did not disappoint me in anyway five stars plus to the author

[Nancy Maher]

Reviewed

This book was interesting and I enjoyed reading the story. However, the proof reader did a very poor job!! I was constantly distracted by all of the grammatical and spelling errors present in the story. You need to check and
Recheck this book.

[sharon murray]

Enchanting

All I can say about this wonderful story is once I started reading I wanted to be right there within its pages. I was drawn completely into this author’s world. Read it! You won’t be sorry❤️

[michael a brewer]

Very interesting reading

The storyline was right up my ally with the herbs to heal, and the spirit world that everyone wonders about. Hopefully we try to be half the individual Charity was☺

[Heidi Bernier]

Good story


I enjoyed the characters and the story line. However, in the e-book the use of punctuation was distracting, there were misspelled words and combined these 2 things took away from my enjoyment.

[Parks Freeman Venture Account]

Best book of the year for me

The richness of the words describing Charity, her ancestors and descendants weaves an engaging and thoughtful story. I felt myself understanding the power of drawing a loved one close in my mind when praying for them. Thank you, Ms Beckham.

[Linda Derrick]

good historical fiction is

Can’t wait for the remainder of the series. The historical facts intertwined misdemeanors made it more exciting. Especially I knew and visited most of the physical places mentioned.

[Jane Edwards]

I could not put this book down, wanting to see what happened next and what happened to the characters in the book. I enjoyed the storyline and the time period in which the book takes place. I could see it happening in my minds eye. Very enjoyable book.

[hosking,theresa]

Enjoyed this book

This book was great. It held my interest and couldn't put it down. Can't wait to read more of her books

[Sherron L Pace]

Passageways

Is there a light and we go there? Is there nothing of blackness and we go there? Is it a Great Spirit? Do we just wonder

[Angela Richter]

A Good Story but.......

I enjoyed this story but the use of wrong words, poor grammar and even worse punctuation made for hard reading.

[Jane C. Anderson]

When the yellow mocker Calls

Such a good story set in the mid 1800's. The main character is 3/4 Indian & .can see visions! Makes for delightful reading

[Thomas Havens]

When the yellow locker calls

I am not a fan of this book. It is about Cherokee Indian folklore and dead Indian spirits. Thank you.

[Cheryl]

The story was great. The editing not so much. I liked it well enough to read Penny's journey!

[Wendy]

Wholesome tale

It was a good, wholesome story about a woman and her love for her husband, her family and her people. The journey was long and hard but not always unhappy.

[Chet]

Endurance

This story about a young woman's journey through life is inspirational because of all the trauma of the time and then civil war.

[Madeline taylor]

i really loved the story of the family - their trials and tribulations, their joys and life events. But the whole "I see dead people" was such a turn off that it ruined the story completely.

[Glenda S Jones]

This has a good story line, but it needs some serious proofreading and editing.