Cordelia's Journey

A brutal stepfather . . . A dying mother. . . A loving daughter who tries to save her Kansas Territory, 1855 In this coming-of-age story, thirteen-year-old Cordelia endures her stepfather's abuse until she learns her ailing mother is pregnant again. Fearing her mother will die in childbirth, she runs away, heading for Westport and her aunt, the only person who might be able to save her mother. She disguises herself as a boy and sets out on foot to make the 150-mile trip. Following the Kansas River, she hitches rides with a variety of travelers going east, facing setbacks along the way while learning lessons about the world and her place in it. Cordelia's Journey is the first book in the Pierce Family Saga, a series of historical novels that follow Cordelia and her family through the latter half of the nineteenth century.