The Ransom of Mercy Carter

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A true story set during colonial times. - Rated
Eleven-year-old Mercy Carter lives with her family in Deerfield, Massachusetts, the most remote settlement in the English colonies in 1704. Although life in Deerfield is both difficult and dangerous, with countless chores for even the youngest child and the constant threat of Indian attacks, Mercy takes comfort in her family and her faith. But even her prayers are not enough to save many settlers from brutal deaths at the hands of the Indians, and they aren't enough to save Mercy, who is among the survivors, from capture. Forced to march three hundred miles north to the Indian village in Canada through the brutal winter cold is almost more than Mercy can bear, and many do not survive the journey. Once she arrives in Canada, she finds herself a servant, and her only comfort lies in her faith, her prayers, and the faint hope that she will be ransomed and reunited with the surviving members of her family. Yet as time goes by, Mercy begins to think of herself as less of a captive, and more of a daughter of the tribe. And as this happens, Mercy wonders - if given the chance to become "English" again, would she even want to take it? Is she even still Mercy Carter, the Puritan girl from Deerfield, or an entirely new person? This was an absolutely wonderful book. The author really was able to get inside Mercy's head, to make the reader feel what she was feeling, as she struggles to love and not hate, to mourn her lost family and friends yet be happy among the people responsible for the deaths, and to remember her old life without causing herself pain. I can't say enough good things about this book, so I'll just highly reccomend that you read it.