Stone Field

Gr 9 Up—Inspired by the raw wildness of Wuthering Heights, this tragic romance between a frustrated young Missouri woman and a Creek Indian in Civil War—era Missouri is a natural for readers who enjoy their historical fiction dark and sorrowful. Catrina is an entirely maddening girl: she dresses and speaks improperly. When she meets a mysterious man (whom she calls Stonefield) near her home, she is immediately drawn into a relationship that can never have a happy ending. The community's suspicion of Stonefield comes to a breaking point after the couple are discovered by a pious and gossiping neighbor, leading to rash decisions made by both Catrina and Stonefield. The doomed romance is passionate and heartbreaking. The sheer amount of important historical information, such as Missouri's position during the war, Indian boarding schools, and evangelical revival, never threatens to overburden the narrative. Passion—romantic, hateful, and religious—and its effects are at the soul of this story. The depiction of women's lives during the Civil War era, as well as the treatment of minorities, is authentically horrific. The sexual scenes between Catrina and Stonefield are brief. Although it is not necessary to be familiar with the source material, readers well versed in the original will note its similarly uncontrollable and unsustainable romance. An author's note gives a brief overview of Missouri's Civil War history.