The Bend in the River

by Susan Gibbs

Orphaned by the sudden deaths of her parents in 1877, seventeen year-old Emma Jorden has to abandon her Kansas home. Lost on the featureless prairie and near death she is rescued by Shea Hawkshadow, a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 097146670X
• ISBN13: 9780971466708
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Hawkshadow Pub. Co.
• Length: 444 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.6" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Do Yourself a Favor and Buy This Book!!

Susan unfolds this poignant story of a strong, young woman and her life struggles as a survivor. The writer's attention to the historical timeframe and detail is impeccable. Thank goodness, an author who does her homework! This is an inspiring "read" for anyone. I found it to be both enjoyable and full of valuable lessons. Be observant readers.......laugh, cry and hopefully understand that we all do the very best we can, with what we know and possess, at any given point in time. Each of the characters in this narrative provide remarkable role modeling.......especially Emma. I will definitely be watching for Susan's next novel.......regardless of the theme it should be a best seller. I know "The Bend in the River" was for me!

A sweeping yet wistful romantic novel

Set in 1877 Kansas, The Bend in the River is an emotional novel about a young woman's tragic loss of her parents, and her whilwind romance with a mixed-blood Cheyenne warrior who saves her from certain death amidst a freak autumn blizzard. Together, the unlikely couple try to build a life for themselves, yet their marriage prompts prejudice and even attempted murder from the intolerant frontier community, forcing her and her husband to flee together. Emotionally distraught yet armed with the will to survive, the heroine of the novel is a complex character who carries this tale of transition from girlhood to womanhood with pride and determination. A sweeping yet wistful romantic novel.

Magnificent Story

While in the USA on business my husband bought this book for me. It is truly one of the best books I've ever read. The story is epic yet tightly woven around the heroine Emma. Every page of the story has something unique, a perspective so different from other fiction books i've read. I've alwasy been interested in the American west, and read many books about it both fiction and non. But this story is so different. It's driving, moving and very funny in a naturalistic way. One part had me in tears because it was written so sensitively. The story revolves around a young white woman who married a Cheyene man. As is true today, interracial marriage often brings much condemnation upon the parties involved. Emma and her husband Shea survive through ordeal after ordeal and you get the feeling that each time, Emma is having trouble coping with it all. When she does fall to pieces, the author writes about her nervous breakdown in such a way that what you think is wrong with Emma really isn't the case. In the end emma has to sort out her problems on her own as medical asssitance for mental sicknesses truly did not exist in the late 19th century. I highly recommend this stirring story with characters that will remain on your mind for a long time to come.

Best Book I Ever Read!

I got a copy of this book directly from the author. I read it in just two days! What a great story! The pace of the book was very fast and exciting, while being a very moving story. Now, I want to buy more books for friends and family. I loved the story. It was interesting, unpredictable and most of all, very well written. The characters were the kind that stick with you long after you've finished the book. I recommend this book to anyone who loves GOOD, no, GREAT historical fiction! Buy it and you'll see!