My Lady Zane

BIOGRAPHY:  Sergeant Leah Sullivan is currently serving in Iraq and is determined protect her country. During this tour, she receives letters from her grandmother. These letters tell the tale of Elizabeth Betty Zane. The book then dives in to tell the stories of both these brave women, one modern, one historical. Betty lives on the frontier with her family during the American Revolution. She falls in love with a man named Zach, but she must go to school. When she attends school, she witnesses the horrors of British colonial rule. A series of events lead up to the Battle of Fort Henry, where Betty must risk her life for her country. Meanwhile, Leah is fighting in Iraq, and determined to show how tough she is, protect her unit and her country. 

This book is filled with courageous women, willing to risk their lives for their country. One of the unique aspects of the book is that it intertwines military fiction and historical fiction. The messages of love, courage and sacrifice are paramount throughout the story. There are multiple plot lines and timeline jumps which cause the book to lack in character development and slow the pace of the novel down. The dialogue is also very stilted and doesn’t seem to flow naturally which makes some of the conversations seem unrealistic. However, the author truly shows the beauty of the frontier and the determination of the people.  If readers love stories based on true events with a mix of action, then this is the perfect book! 

Amanda Hupe