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Sunfire #6
Jessica
She lived in a time when loving the wrong man could mean exile from her home. One Man would love her; one man would lose her.
Jessica had lived all her life on the flat Kansas prairie. It was there, the year she turned sixteen, that Jessica fell in love. The young Indian brave, Wheeling Hawk, saved her from a flood, and Jessica's heart was lost. But even the most spirited young woman would have to defy her family and home for so distant a love. And Jessica couldn't see in Will Reynold's eyes, where once there was anger, there now shone a love of his own.
Jessica had lived all her life on the flat Kansas prairie. It was there, the year she turned sixteen, that Jessica fell in love. The young Indian brave, Wheeling Hawk, saved her from a flood, and Jessica's heart was lost. But even the most spirited young woman would have to defy her family and home for so distant a love. And Jessica couldn't see in Will Reynold's eyes, where once there was anger, there now shone a love of his own.
350 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1984
238 people want to read
About the author
Mary Francis Shura
42 books22 followersMary Francis Young was born on 23 February 1923 in Pratt, Kansas, the daughter of Jack Fant and Mary Francis (Milstead) Young. When she was very young, her family moved to the Pacific Northwest, where she raised. She studied at Maryville State College. On 24 October 1943, she married Daniel Charles Shura, who died in 1959. They had two children: Marianne Francis Shura (Spraguc) and Daniel Charles Shura. On 8 December 1961, she married Raymond C. Craig, they had a daughter Alice Barrett Craig (Stout), before their divorce.
Since 1960, she wrote over 50 books of various genres: children's adventures and teen-romances as Mary Francis Shura, M. F. Craig, and Meredith Hill; gothic novels as Mary Craig; romance novels as Alexis Hill, Mary Shura Craig and Mary S. Craig; and suspense novels as M. S. Craig.
Her children's novel "The Search for Grissi" received the Carl Sandburg Literary Arts Award in 1985, and she also was nominated to the Young Hoosier Book Award. In 1990, she was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America.
She lived in Hinsdale, Illinois, where her apartment burned on 13 December 1990. At 67, she died of injuries suffered in the fire on 12 January 1991 in Loyola University Medical Burn Center in Maywood.
Since 1960, she wrote over 50 books of various genres: children's adventures and teen-romances as Mary Francis Shura, M. F. Craig, and Meredith Hill; gothic novels as Mary Craig; romance novels as Alexis Hill, Mary Shura Craig and Mary S. Craig; and suspense novels as M. S. Craig.
Her children's novel "The Search for Grissi" received the Carl Sandburg Literary Arts Award in 1985, and she also was nominated to the Young Hoosier Book Award. In 1990, she was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America.
She lived in Hinsdale, Illinois, where her apartment burned on 13 December 1990. At 67, she died of injuries suffered in the fire on 12 January 1991 in Loyola University Medical Burn Center in Maywood.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
August 18, 2008
This one review is for all the "Sunfire Romance" books I've read. I've read many of these teenage romances forever ago, but if you want a perfectly CLEAN romance read, these are the best! There is nothing questionable or borderline in them whatsoever. They all have the basic idea of one girl having to decide between two guys and all take place during some past historical period. They are quick reads, even the longer ones (which I enjoyed more than the shorter books).
July 26, 2008
“(See my review of "Amanda" for my series overview.)
I searched high and low for this book as a kid, (I love a good frontier story!) and it was the first one I added to my meager Sunfire collection when this new obsession bit my brain. I am actually terribly glad I read it as an adult, and not as a scatterbrained middle-schooler, because I would have missed all of the beauty of this book.
Yes, I'm talking about a teen romance serial here. Jessica is remarkably mature, realistic, and thoughtful, even for a Sunfire, and it sorta makes me go "Wah."
Allow me to explain: Jessica Findlay is a bright, capable girl living on the Kansas prairie in the 1870s. She's got her nice father Patrick, a real sweetheart of a stepmother, Melanie, a couple of adorable little brothers, and a jerky new neighbor in Will Reynolds. In short order, Will's wife dies in childbirth, Jessica's father says, "hey, my kid hasn't got anything better to do than take care of your kid!" and Jessica, seething with resentment, is forced to give up a lucrative teaching job for a babysitting gig she doesn't want.
But it's not all bad- Jessica grows to love baby James (whom she cutely nicknames Jimson, after the hardy weed) and when a prairie flash flood threatens the dugout they're in, they are rescued by an alert, clever, and did I mention *handsome* Cheyenne brave named Wheeling Hawk.
This isn't one of those "love conquers all" romances that ignores the social and cultural gulf between two people as different as Jessica and Wheeling Hawk. Although the two are soon deeply in love and meeting in secret, they are eventually discovered, and though it's hard for our more colorblind modern eyes to understand, their love angers and frightens their respective families.
The thing is, Jessica's a sensible girl who knows *what* she needs to do, it just takes her a little time to figure out *how.* She's already had to find a way to tell off a childhood sweetheart who's grown into a bully and had to cut ties with one unworthy friend. The most satisfying thing about Jessica as a character is that she can always see the writing on the wall. In a world of wishy-washy romance heroines, she is absolutely refreshing.
And how about that Melanie Findlay, who makes the case for stepmothers everywhere - "I have to walk a line between being a mother and a friend" - and for gently, sweetly sounding the death knell of Jessica's one great love by pointing out that neither would ever be truly welcome in the other's world.
Jessica knows her love affair with Wheeling Hawk has to end. And that it ends maturely, with an acknowledgment that although they truly love each other, there's not a way to be together, is both realistic and heartbreaking.
There are a few episodic bits of Sunfire cheesiness interspersed throughout, but even a couple of seemingly irrelevant detours all add up to an important plot development at the end, which carries its own faint hint of cheesiness, but which I thoroughly enjoyed. I actually won't spoil it for you. Just read it and have fun.
Mary Francis Shura is a very dependable one of the Sunfire authors. Her research blends into the story quite well, and the book as a whole feels very organic.
And that Will Reynolds? Not the biggest jerk in the world, after all. You'll definitely be singing "love the one you're with" at the end of this one.
The verdict: If you don't read another Sunfire, read this one. If you're collecting, track this one down at all costs.
I searched high and low for this book as a kid, (I love a good frontier story!) and it was the first one I added to my meager Sunfire collection when this new obsession bit my brain. I am actually terribly glad I read it as an adult, and not as a scatterbrained middle-schooler, because I would have missed all of the beauty of this book.
Yes, I'm talking about a teen romance serial here. Jessica is remarkably mature, realistic, and thoughtful, even for a Sunfire, and it sorta makes me go "Wah."
Allow me to explain: Jessica Findlay is a bright, capable girl living on the Kansas prairie in the 1870s. She's got her nice father Patrick, a real sweetheart of a stepmother, Melanie, a couple of adorable little brothers, and a jerky new neighbor in Will Reynolds. In short order, Will's wife dies in childbirth, Jessica's father says, "hey, my kid hasn't got anything better to do than take care of your kid!" and Jessica, seething with resentment, is forced to give up a lucrative teaching job for a babysitting gig she doesn't want.
But it's not all bad- Jessica grows to love baby James (whom she cutely nicknames Jimson, after the hardy weed) and when a prairie flash flood threatens the dugout they're in, they are rescued by an alert, clever, and did I mention *handsome* Cheyenne brave named Wheeling Hawk.
This isn't one of those "love conquers all" romances that ignores the social and cultural gulf between two people as different as Jessica and Wheeling Hawk. Although the two are soon deeply in love and meeting in secret, they are eventually discovered, and though it's hard for our more colorblind modern eyes to understand, their love angers and frightens their respective families.
The thing is, Jessica's a sensible girl who knows *what* she needs to do, it just takes her a little time to figure out *how.* She's already had to find a way to tell off a childhood sweetheart who's grown into a bully and had to cut ties with one unworthy friend. The most satisfying thing about Jessica as a character is that she can always see the writing on the wall. In a world of wishy-washy romance heroines, she is absolutely refreshing.
And how about that Melanie Findlay, who makes the case for stepmothers everywhere - "I have to walk a line between being a mother and a friend" - and for gently, sweetly sounding the death knell of Jessica's one great love by pointing out that neither would ever be truly welcome in the other's world.
Jessica knows her love affair with Wheeling Hawk has to end. And that it ends maturely, with an acknowledgment that although they truly love each other, there's not a way to be together, is both realistic and heartbreaking.
There are a few episodic bits of Sunfire cheesiness interspersed throughout, but even a couple of seemingly irrelevant detours all add up to an important plot development at the end, which carries its own faint hint of cheesiness, but which I thoroughly enjoyed. I actually won't spoil it for you. Just read it and have fun.
Mary Francis Shura is a very dependable one of the Sunfire authors. Her research blends into the story quite well, and the book as a whole feels very organic.
And that Will Reynolds? Not the biggest jerk in the world, after all. You'll definitely be singing "love the one you're with" at the end of this one.
The verdict: If you don't read another Sunfire, read this one. If you're collecting, track this one down at all costs.
September 11, 2012
Oh, Jessica. This is one of my top two favorite books in the Sunfire series. It's set at such an interesting time in American history and the story really shows you many elements of life at that time. Jessica is such a lovable character and the overall flow of the story is really captivating. It's a good read at any age and one I enjoy repeatedly.
April 6, 2020
Re-Review April 6th, 2020 (Self-Isolation Day 20)
To be completely honest, I didn't finish rereading this one in my re-read all my Sunfires aspiration. I tried! I really did!! I just wasn't enjoying myself.
Look, objectively I would recommend this book because it is decently written. As I said below, there are some good action scenes and Jessica is a good protagonist. She turns 16 at the beginning of the book and is unsure what she wants to do with her life. She's a little lost, torn between fear of growing up and getting married and going out and getting a job. She also has this cute scene where she realizes she looks at her brothers more maternally than as their big sister now. I think a lot of us can see ourselves in her, which I believe makes her a strong character.
It's just, after that, I only have negative feelings toward this book. It's not because it's boring or poorly written. It's just sort of triggering in this day in age.
For starters, as mentioned in the original review, Jessica's father is somewhat controlling and overbearing. Jessica gets a teaching opportunity early in the novel, and her father makes her turn it down and tells her she has to go live with a somewhat hostile stranger (her eventual suitor) and take care of his baby. That is so messed up. Now I understand, times were different back then; people had to take care of each other. However, he never talks to Jessica about it, he never asks her opinion. He doesn't take into account her feelings, which are already all over the place. It just makes me angry when I read about it.
There is also Jessica's first admirer, Roy. He is never an actual suitor because Jessica's inner dialogue makes it very clear she is uncomfortable with him. In the sections of the book I re-read, I'm reminded of what a horrifying guy and scenario this guy presents. We follow Jessica as she hides from him, how she dodges from riding with him in his wagon, and how he gives her an expensive gift on her birthday in front of all her neighbors (basically signifying that they are going to get married one day.) Like, I know he's the villain, and a very realistic one at that, but it was a bit upsetting. I pick up these books for fluff, not to be reminded of the #MeToo movement. And like I said, this character doesn't make the book bad, just not for me.
Finally, the last thing about this book that makes me uncomfortable is the end. Now, admittedly, I haven't read the entire book in a while, but it's not something I've completely forgotten. (Spoilers somewhat incoming) So the ending climax/conflict revolves around a legit trial. A character trial. Against Jessica. There is a trial where she has to go sit in front of the entire town where people analyze her character and degrade her by calling her a slu... uh... floozy. Like, a bunch of characters go and testify against her saying how she's leading on all these men and stuff. It's disgusting. Was this kind of trial actually a thing? Granted, this is a decent idea for a story. However, all I can think about is how so many women who speak up against their rapists then getting dragged over the coals at court. And no, Jessica was assaulted by anyone, but it is just too easy to connect the two with today's current environment.
So between the overbearing parent giving me major traumatic flashbacks and multiple ways to parallel the story to a trial that suppresses women from speaking out against their abusers, this book is not for me. As I said before, it's not a bad book. It's just not for me.
Original Review circa 2011
This book was okay. It was the first Sunfire I read, because I have the same name as the main character. This book really annoyed me though. Her father basically controlled her. He wouldn't even listen to her at all. I also feel that he kind of made her decision on who to pick. And the ending just seemed to come out of left field. Anyway, the history stuff was cool, and the action was amazing.
To be completely honest, I didn't finish rereading this one in my re-read all my Sunfires aspiration. I tried! I really did!! I just wasn't enjoying myself.
Look, objectively I would recommend this book because it is decently written. As I said below, there are some good action scenes and Jessica is a good protagonist. She turns 16 at the beginning of the book and is unsure what she wants to do with her life. She's a little lost, torn between fear of growing up and getting married and going out and getting a job. She also has this cute scene where she realizes she looks at her brothers more maternally than as their big sister now. I think a lot of us can see ourselves in her, which I believe makes her a strong character.
It's just, after that, I only have negative feelings toward this book. It's not because it's boring or poorly written. It's just sort of triggering in this day in age.
For starters, as mentioned in the original review, Jessica's father is somewhat controlling and overbearing. Jessica gets a teaching opportunity early in the novel, and her father makes her turn it down and tells her she has to go live with a somewhat hostile stranger (her eventual suitor) and take care of his baby. That is so messed up. Now I understand, times were different back then; people had to take care of each other. However, he never talks to Jessica about it, he never asks her opinion. He doesn't take into account her feelings, which are already all over the place. It just makes me angry when I read about it.
There is also Jessica's first admirer, Roy. He is never an actual suitor because Jessica's inner dialogue makes it very clear she is uncomfortable with him. In the sections of the book I re-read, I'm reminded of what a horrifying guy and scenario this guy presents. We follow Jessica as she hides from him, how she dodges from riding with him in his wagon, and how he gives her an expensive gift on her birthday in front of all her neighbors (basically signifying that they are going to get married one day.) Like, I know he's the villain, and a very realistic one at that, but it was a bit upsetting. I pick up these books for fluff, not to be reminded of the #MeToo movement. And like I said, this character doesn't make the book bad, just not for me.
Finally, the last thing about this book that makes me uncomfortable is the end. Now, admittedly, I haven't read the entire book in a while, but it's not something I've completely forgotten. (Spoilers somewhat incoming) So the ending climax/conflict revolves around a legit trial. A character trial. Against Jessica. There is a trial where she has to go sit in front of the entire town where people analyze her character and degrade her by calling her a slu... uh... floozy. Like, a bunch of characters go and testify against her saying how she's leading on all these men and stuff. It's disgusting. Was this kind of trial actually a thing? Granted, this is a decent idea for a story. However, all I can think about is how so many women who speak up against their rapists then getting dragged over the coals at court. And no, Jessica was assaulted by anyone, but it is just too easy to connect the two with today's current environment.
So between the overbearing parent giving me major traumatic flashbacks and multiple ways to parallel the story to a trial that suppresses women from speaking out against their abusers, this book is not for me. As I said before, it's not a bad book. It's just not for me.
Original Review circa 2011
This book was okay. It was the first Sunfire I read, because I have the same name as the main character. This book really annoyed me though. Her father basically controlled her. He wouldn't even listen to her at all. I also feel that he kind of made her decision on who to pick. And the ending just seemed to come out of left field. Anyway, the history stuff was cool, and the action was amazing.
February 12, 2010
This is a teen romance book set in kansas in the frontier days. I loved this as a young girl and decided to give it a re-read as an adult to see if I wanted to keep it. I was surprised at how even handed and complex the relationships were in the book. Nothing in it was a surprise but the formulaic relationship between the heroines and the two men she must choose between (a classic Sunfire trope) is made interesting by the way the cultural differences and personality clashes were dealt with. The secondary characters were not just window dressing but served as important anchors in the main character's growth and understanding of herself and the world she lived in.
Full of cliches and you see where things are going the second you meet the relevant people but there's a thread of practicality and historical detail that makes this one of the more substantial romances of its type.
Full of cliches and you see where things are going the second you meet the relevant people but there's a thread of practicality and historical detail that makes this one of the more substantial romances of its type.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2008
I loved this whole series. My favorite was Nicole, who was a wealthy girl who "slummed" it with the lower class on the Titanic. She fell in love with one of the lower class boys, and then the ship sank. Hmmm that sounds so much like some very popular movie I saw once.... but the book was written in like 1985.... just sayin'.
July 19, 2012
The Sunfire reads continue. Another intereting setting. I don't fully buy the ending. One part was necessary, but the other wasn't developed enough. I am glad to read these Sunfires to find books in these settings because I can't find many current books in them, especially outside the Christian fiction.
June 5, 2007
My favorite Sunfire! Jessica lives on the Kansas prairie. Her story deviated from the formula because she had three guys instead of two, not to mention she was taking care of an infant and her aspiration was to be a wife.
February 18, 2008
it is good story
Want to read
May 10, 2010I read these books when I was a teen & loved them! Would live to read them again!
September 1, 2015
Felt like neither of the love interests were genuine.
October 5, 2013
Loved this one despite the rampant case of insta-love.
May 14, 2016
I didn't put her in after I read her-how ODD of me!
Read
December 22, 2009Date below: not the first reading
December 11, 2018
Re-read of a childhood favorite over Thanksgiving. The heroine was really substantive and had real issues to deal with in her life. She did seem wise beyond her years. Complex plot with a nasty, presumptuous suitor and a culturally inappropriate love interest (nowhere for a mixed white-Native American marriage in that time, and neither could really join the other’s world). The romance with a widowed neighbor seems the least likely, but a convenient way to wrap up the book.
I don’t think I realized how “pure” this whole series of teen romance novels was; I think I liked the historical content/adventure as a teenager and likely assumed that the authors were trying to be consistent with social mores of the periods described.
I don’t think I realized how “pure” this whole series of teen romance novels was; I think I liked the historical content/adventure as a teenager and likely assumed that the authors were trying to be consistent with social mores of the periods described.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
January 11, 2023Reading these books as an adult requires me to willing suspend my disbelief quite a bit. Some days I'm okay with that, others I am not. This book was hard for me. I was willing to accept several of the unlikely story lines, but the idea that a newborn would be handed to an umarried girl to feed rather than seeking out a lactating woman in town to foster the child through infancy was tought to swallow.
I was the target audience for this book when it was written, the first time I read it. I am not the target audience now, so I read it with a more critical eye than I did as a teen.
I was the target audience for this book when it was written, the first time I read it. I am not the target audience now, so I read it with a more critical eye than I did as a teen.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 8, 2024
1. Jessica named her horse Dancie. That’s really all you need to know to predict this book
2. No one had gray eyes. How am I suppose to predict the chosen lover without gray eyes?
3. Hmm. I have thoughts about the racism in the book. But the cover says it all. Wheeling Hawk has a mullet but is wearing a fringe vest. So I guess we’re to read him as early 80s Cheyenne. But he does seam to be wearing jeans on the back cover.
But she named the damn horse Dancie.
2. No one had gray eyes. How am I suppose to predict the chosen lover without gray eyes?
3. Hmm. I have thoughts about the racism in the book. But the cover says it all. Wheeling Hawk has a mullet but is wearing a fringe vest. So I guess we’re to read him as early 80s Cheyenne. But he does seam to be wearing jeans on the back cover.
But she named the damn horse Dancie.
July 31, 2017
Despite it being one of my favourites in the series, I found the ending very rushed. Otherwise, this is a great book.
February 24, 2019
I had to really search for this Jessica. Not a bad book at all.
December 22, 2019
Fun YA from back in the day.
April 20, 2021
Loved the character of Jessica. Really bugged by how all the "men" act- even though it is time appropriate.
August 14, 2021
Original review was 4 as this is a re-read but that was more because I rated a long time after I originally read it because otherwise I don't know why I would give it lower then a 5!
The whole Sunfire serious really is just one of the best romances serious I have come across. I've only re-read two so far and both I love even more then the first time.
Jessica is a wonderful story about living in Kansas and dealing with scandal left and right. I love her growth through this book and being able to see all the changes so vividly. Her relationships are real and it shows with each and everyone she comes across. I feel so connected to all of them and I just love how love can teach and help someone grow, Shura shows that kind of love here perfectly.
The whole Sunfire serious really is just one of the best romances serious I have come across. I've only re-read two so far and both I love even more then the first time.
Jessica is a wonderful story about living in Kansas and dealing with scandal left and right. I love her growth through this book and being able to see all the changes so vividly. Her relationships are real and it shows with each and everyone she comes across. I feel so connected to all of them and I just love how love can teach and help someone grow, Shura shows that kind of love here perfectly.
August 20, 2016
Ah, geez, where to start? What an example of 80s cheese! It's really laid on with a trowel here--and Jessica has FOUR different suitors, which I think is a record even for Sunfire novels! While some of the other novels have semi-realistic love stories, none of the romantic leads here have a lick of personality or even a believable love arc. Some of the dialogue is straight out of a Lifetime movie, and I'm sure I would have been a hundred percent in love with it as a teenager, but now it didn't fit at all with the rest of the writing.
Check out my full review at Young Adult Historical Vault https://yahistoricalvault.com/2016/07... for spoilers and commentary on the twist ending!
Check out my full review at Young Adult Historical Vault https://yahistoricalvault.com/2016/07... for spoilers and commentary on the twist ending!
July 3, 2017
I originally read this series back in the 80s, checking them out from my elementary school library. Having re-read them as an adult I think they stand the test of time and are still relevant as far as historical fiction is concerned.
January 6, 2018
Nostalgia read: I loved this series as a teen and it has been fun to revisit them. The Sunfire books are clean romances based on a heroine throughout historical time frames. I always enjoyed the historical perspectives and I liked the romance. This book was one of my favorites. I enjoyed how Jessica changes and grows into a woman that is strong, determined, and knows her mind. The romance conclusion comes a little fast at the end but it is satifying.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews