This fast-paced and poignant novel follows fourteen-year-old Hannah York as she and her family carve out a home along Santa Rosa Creek in southern Utah during the 1860s. Her mother's death soon after their arrival in southern Utah tests Hannah to the limit, as the family battles crickets, floods, and drought.
Her twelve-year-old brother, Caleb, who has always been her friend, resents her new authority and rebels at Hannah's orders, claiming she must be the "bossiest critter" in the Utah Territory. It takes a mountain lion, renegade Indians, and a domineering aunt to make the York's see how much they truly rely on each other.
Hannah's story will keep you captivated as she confronts her challenges, and in the end, truly stands tall. (Publisher website)