Review: Caleb's Crossing

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is another I got from Mom's list. It was pretty good - I enjoyed Brooks' other books (Year of Wonder and People of the Book) and this did not disappoint.

The story is based on a real character - Caleb - the first American Indian to attend Harvard. But the rest of the story is imagined by Brooks, and told through the eyes of Bethia, a young woman whose father is a missionary minister on Martha's Vineyard in the mid-1600's. Bethia befriends Caleb and ultimately follows him to Cambridge, although under much different circumstances than her own matriculation into Harvard.

I was fascinated by this story taking place on the Vineyard, partially because a close friend had lived there for the past few years. I liked reading about the relationship between the missionaries and the Native Americans, and found Bethia an honest and likeable narrator.

Like much historical fiction, this book didn't have the happiest of endings, but the story itself was a good read.



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