A Christy award-winning novel about a woman caught between two worlds, and the lengths she goes to find where she belongs Abducted by Mohawk Indians at fourteen and renamed Burning Sky, Willa Obenchain is driven to return to her family’s New York frontier homestead after many years building a life with the People. At the boundary of her father’s property, Willa discovers a wounded Scotsman lying … wounded Scotsman lying in her path. Feeling obliged to nurse his injuries, the two quickly find much has changed during her twelve-year absence: her childhood home is in disrepair, her missing parents are rumored to be Tories, and the young Richard Waring she once admired is now grown into a man twisted by the horrors of war and claiming ownership of the Obenchain land.
When her Mohawk brother arrives and questions her place in the white world, the cultural divide blurs Willa’s vision. Can she follow Tames-His-Horse back to the People now that she is no longer Burning Sky? And what about Neil MacGregor, the kind and loyal botanist who does not fit into in her plan for a solitary life, yet is now helping her revive her farm? In the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, strong feelings against “savages” abound in the nearby village of Shiloh, leaving Willa’s safety unsure.
As tensions rise, challenging her shielded heart, the woman called Burning Sky must find a new courage–the courage to again risk embracing the blessings the Almighty wants to bestow. Is she brave enough to love again?
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Adored this novel. I could binge read Lori Benton books all day every day. They are beautiful, raw, tender, poignant, profound, and worth reading multiple times. The characters in this one were drawn with careful detail and a complex palette of colors. Gorgeous.
Lori Benton’s masterful storytelling breathes love, life, and emotion across the dusty pages of history. Over two centuries later, the spirit of the frontier continues to inspire and encourage us. Women like Willa vulnerably display the beauty of femininity with deep, heartbreaking love and graceful, empowering faith to this day.
Benton is without a doubt one of my all-time favorite authors. I love the way the author unapologetically exposes the raw emotional experiences her characters endure while faithfully crafting word pictures worthy of the vivid and artistic splendor of God’s creation which they represent. I highly recommend this book and eagerly anticipate this author’s future works.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and was under no obligation to post a review. The opinions expressed are my own.
Poetic and flowing, with fully evolved, relatable characters, Burning Sky gives a glimpse of life after the Revolutionary War. The action and intrigue are more evenly paced and come from the continuing tangle of loyalties and the wounds left by the conflict rather than putting us in the midst of the smoke and gunfire. As beautifully as the landscape of the New York frontier is described, the interior landscape of the characters takes central stage.
This award-winning historical fiction novel needs to be on everyone’s shelf who loves Christian fiction set in the colonial era. Lori Benton does an amazing job depicting the inner turmoil of an Indian captive who returns home, only to wonder if she can truly live among white people again. A wonderful treatment of the upheaval and conflict immediately after the Revolution. Rich, poignant, and inspirational.
“Burning Sky: A Novel of the American Frontier” is a stunning debut from author Lori Benton. Emotionally powerful, and historically rich, this ultimately uplifting story of survival is one you will long remember. Willa Obenchain and her family live on the New York frontier of the 1700’s. At age fourteen, Willa is taken captive by Mohawk Indians, who rename her “Burning Sky”. She must adapt to her forced existence or perish. Eventually, she becomes a wife and mother, blending into her Mohawk family, thinking she will never see her birth family again. The loss of her husband and children sends her on a sad journey to her homeplace. During the twelve years that Willa was gone, the Revolutionary War had been fought, and many tragic changes had occurred on the New York frontier. Just when Willa gets close to her family’s land, she finds an injured Scotsman, Neil MacGregor, and his dog, Cap. She comes to their aide, and brings them both along with her to the cabin her father had built. Her family is nowhere to be found, and the home and land are both long-neglected. Soon after she arrives, she is greeted by an old friend and neighbor, Anni, whose brother, Richard Waring, had meant to marry Willa when she came of age. While Anni embraces Willa, and welcomes her home, Richard is cruel and denigrating of Will’s time of captivity. Anni tells Willa that her parents and grandmother disappeared after being accused of loyalty to the Tory Party. Her home and land are to be auctioned, but Willa determines to fight for her land and find out what happened to her family. Neil MacGregor is a gentle man of deep faith, and he shows great care for Willa. She had planned a solitary life, and she tries to guard her heart from emotional attachment. Political unrest and the hatred and fear between settlers and Indians continue to threaten Willa’s future and her chance of keeping her homeplace. Perhaps the biggest threat of all to Willa is Richard Waring–the youth who had hoped to marry Willa is now a vengeful and twisted man, scarred by the atrocities of war. As Willa struggles with her new life, her past returns in the form of her Mohawk “brother”, Tames-His-Horse, who beckons her to return to his people. Where is Willa’s true home? She has lived in two worlds, yet she now belongs fully to neither place. Can she find a way to open her heart and embrace both cultures, creating a whole-new, happier way of life? Will she allow herself to love and be loved in return? “Burning Sky” is stirring, poignant, and unforgettable, a beautiful example of historical fiction at its best. Highly recommended.
Book Copy Gratis WaterBrook Press
What an achingly beautiful story!
Willa Obenchain has had her life ripped away from her too many times… to read this novel you have to keep this in mind, to understand the depths of her hurt, the depths of her fear, and the depths of her courage and love.
Even though she was taken away from her parents forcefully, she eventually learned to care for and blend into the people who took her captive. But when tragedy strikes again, destiny finds Willa walking once more the path towards her past life. But war, hurt and 12 years have not kept things as they once were – not Willa, not the people who once were close to her and not even her land. This might be exactly what she needs, though, to start a new new and lonely life…. because there’s just so much pain a heart can take.
However, the Hand that holds all of our lives of course has another plan. One that involves bringing beauty from ashes and beginning to open the eyes of people torn away by war and hatred to see the beauty of a burning sky.
And among Neil MacGregor and a set of endearing characters, she will find a bunch that have loved her fully with all her quirks, strength and capacity to embrace two such different cultures.
Burning Sky was the first book I have read by Lori Benton, but it won’t be my last. I was thoroughly impressed by it. The characters are believable and well-developed, the action flows well without dragging or feeling rushed. It is the kind of story which makes me stay up late because I want to know what is going to happen. I loved the way the author made history interesting, as well as showing the difficulties on both sides. Faith was well-woven into the story; there were struggles and mistakes, just as we face in our own lives. I appreciate that the characters neither were perfect nor the type which make Christians look ridiculous. Overall, this was a wonderful, well-written, compelling book which I highly recommend.
I read this for a book club. All of our members really like the book. Very briefly, it’s about a woman who had been kidnapped at age 14 and adopted by Mohawks and finally returned to her original home 12 years later. She was such a strong woman, partly due to her Mohawk life. Will she fit into the old community? Will she survive? There are 3 very different men who love her. Will she love any of them in return?
I will not give more information, as I don’t want to be a spoiler. It is a must read!
Burning Sky is a stand alone book – not part of a series.