It's now several months since Boston Jane ( Boston Jane: An Adventure , 2001) arrived in Shoalwater Bay, Washington Territory, having traveled from proper Philadelphia to marry William and having found William married to another. She's no longer puking on board during the long voyage and is resolved to try life on the rough frontier without a chaperone. What Jane needs, though, is more than the ability to bake pies and sew. She just doesn't see that Jehu of the deep blue eyes loves her or that Mr. Russell of the flea-infested, tobacco-stained wardrobe cares so much about her well-being. And she doesn't see that the well-dressed, polite Mr. Black, who arrives one morning at the settlement, is a dangerous killer out for revenge against Mr. Russell. Mourning the death of her dear sweet Papa, she resolves to board the next boat for a return trip to Philadelphia. At the very last moment, she turns back and runs after Jehu and Keer-ukso, one of the neighboring Chinook, who have set out to warn Mr. Russell that his life is in danger. He's gone to a rendezvous between the whites who want all the Indians on a reservation and the Indians who want to continue living on their ancestral homeland. What follows for Jane, Jehu, and Keer-ukso is a perilous trip on water and land, with a snowstorm thrown in for good measure. There's an exciting combination of danger, humor, misunderstandings, first kisses, and a growing awareness of the goodness of those who happily will be Jane's territorial neighbors. She won't return to Philadelphia. True love is here, and proper Miss Sally Biddle of the perfect blond corkscrew curls has arrived from Philadelphia. More to come? We can only hope that the endearing and occasionally improbable adventures of Boston Jane, with their nicely blended mix of real events and characters inspired by actual pioneers, will continue. (Fiction. 10-14)

Starred Review Holm continues Jane's adventure-romance, which began in Boston Jane: An Adventure (2001) and continued in Boston Jane: Wilderness Days (2002). In this story Jane's nemesis from her Philadelphia days, Sally Biddle, has arrived in Shoalwater Bay. Sally is up to her usual schemes, trying to isolate Jane from her new female friends and causing trouble between Jane and Jehu, the man Jane loves. Complicating matters, Jane's former fiance William has also returned--to help the governor relocate the Chinook population and to have Jane's homestead claim declared invalid. As always, Holm's characters are skillfully drawn. Readers will identify with the painful results of Sally's dirty tricks and cheer Jane on as she finds the backbone to put Sally in her place. A subplot involving a young girl taken away from her Chinook mother after the death of her white father is also well handled. The author's attention to historical accuracy (some of it involving her own family) is strong, as always, but memorable characters and all-too-believable situations are the real hallmarks of this very satisfying read.

After discovering in Boston Jane that her financé had wanted to marry her solely to double his land claim in the Washington Territory, Jane Peck is wary of being taken in again. Holm lays on a smorgasbord of wilderness adventure, and the comical overabundance of incident, combined with Jane's indignant responses to the affronts perpetrated by the frontier and its inhabitants, create a fast-paced, slapstick romp.

Gr 6-10 Boston Jane is as feisty as ever, but with a distinctively sharper edge. And with good reason. She has endured several months with smelly, uncouth old men, in less-than-pristine living conditions, in the wilderness of Washington Territory. Now, to increase her emotional burdens, the "proper" young woman from Philadelphia receives word that her father has died. The challenges of the wilderness begin to bring out the worst in her; she is prickly and feels unappreciated by those around her. Trusting a "gentleman" stranger, she inadvertently puts a friend's life in danger and she and two companions, one of whom is a love interest, trek through the wilds to reach the Stevens Negotiations between the Indians and the territorial government representatives, including Jane's pompous former fiancé. She comes to recognize her true friends as she braves adverse conditions and returns to Shoalwater Bay with her emotional wounds less raw, and her retorts less sharp. Readers unfamiliar with Boston Jane: An Adventure (HarperCollins, 2001) are quickly brought up to speed on the previous events and memorable characters. Details are interestingly revealed and are, for the most part, historically accurate. The Stevens Negotiations actually took place, although the timing has been changed. (Holm acknowledges this in an author's note.) The depiction of life in the wilderness reflects experiences found in first-person accounts of pioneer women in the 1850s. Holm once again delivers an action-packed story with a strong female protagonist. Carolyn Janssen, Children's Learning Center of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH