Book Review Lila's Journey

 

Author Jane Coletti Perry loves nothing more than digging into history and discovering unique stories unless it’s bringing those stories to life through her writing.  "Lila's Journey” is historical fiction writing at its best. Perry has created an engaging story that transports readers back in time to frontier life in Kansas in 1866. The author skillfully weaves true historical facts and places into the story's context. It's a realistic and well-researched portrayal of life on the Santa Fe Trail.

Lila Bonner, a sixteen-year-old, is the protagonist whose frontier experiences drive the story. Out of fear and desperation, she quickly decides to escape her father. Despite having few resources, Lila boards a Santa Fe Trail stagecoach bound for Council Grove, Kansas. Armed only with courage and determination, she looks ahead with optimism to find a place where she belongs and hopes for new beginnings. A chance encounter with a kindhearted stranger, John Reynolds, during the stagecoach ride bolsters her courage. In Council Grove, Lila finds a succession of jobs, ultimately working in a boarding house. As she carves out a place for herself, she finds unexpected love and support from community members. Facing an epidemic, Indian unrest, and a plot that threatens her life are some of the challenges Lila meets head-on. A one-room schoolhouse offers her a safe haven for her thirst for book-loving. It also becomes a place where she can make a difference in helping students learn. A single poem by Walt Whitman, “I Hear America Singing,” plays a part in the storyline as Lila realizes there is hope, and she has found a kindred spirit with schoolmaster John.

“Lila's Journey” is a coming-of-age story that will interest readers of all ages. It's an emotional journey for Lila to pursue a better life, showing an admirable spirit of independence fortified with a courageous spirit. Perry's writing flows well, keeping the reader engaged at all times. Her use of flashbacks, backstory, and increased tension move the story along. Perry's description of places and landscapes helps make the time period come alive for readers, visualizing what life might have been like for a young woman on her own in pursuit of a better life. 

Award-winning author Jane Coletti Perry’s second novel, Lila’s Journey, will be released in the summer of 2024. Her short story “Lila’s Song” won the Women Writing the West LAURA Award (2021) and is the prequel to Lila’s Journey. Her previous historical fiction novel, "Marcello’s Promise" (2019), was inspired by her family’s immigrant story. Perry graduated from Iowa State University as an English major and participates in writer’s workshops, conferences, and local writing groups.

When she’s not writing, Jane is singing in a choir, exercising in some fashion, or soaking up nature from a shady spot in the yard with a good book. She and her husband live in Kansas and have two children and six grandchildren. She treasures time spent with their far-flung family and still entertains the fantasy of appearing on Dancing with the Stars for Grandmas, although the clock is ticking. . .

Jane is a member of Women Writing the West, Western Writers of America, and Wyoming Writers, Inc.

To learn more about her books and follow her blog, go   https://janecolettiperry.com/