Fortune's Journey - Softcover

Grade 5-7?Following her father's death, Fortune Plunkett, 17, is leading his acting troupe to San Francisco. It is 1853 and the trip will be a treacherous one. As the story begins, the players have arrived in Busted Heights, Missouri, to deal with some "unfinished business." Here, Fortune meets Jamie, whose stepmother runs the hotel where the troupe stays. The intended sense of mystery surrounding Jamie and the reason for coming to this out-of-the-way town develop into a contrived plotline. A fight and a subsequent fire cause the acting company to flee, and Jamie, who is curiously able to recite Shakespeare, runs off with them, thus creating the romantic interest for Fortune. Characterization is disappointing. Fortune's motivation based on her devotion to her father seems flimsy, and her passion for the theater is tentative. The book's historical aspect offers interest, and readers do get a sense of the ordeal involved in a wagon-train journey. Living conditions and 19th-century theatrical life are well described, but as a novel this is basically a melodrama with characters who play predictable roles. Misunderstandings interfere with the course of Fortune's romance, but they are cleared up, as is the nature of the business in Busted Heights. This is a departure in genre for Coville, and it falls short of its potential.?Renee Steinberg, Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

With mixed results, the popular author of such zany fare as My Teacher Flunked the Planet here tries his hand at historical romance. In 1853, 16-year-old Fortune Plunkett is leading her late father's six-person itinerant acting troupe westward in hopes of building a permanent theater in San Francisco. Along the way, in a sleepy Missouri town, the group picks up another player, Jamie, a handsome young fellow who causes blushes to creep up Fortune's cheeks. As their wagon rolls along-often, unfortunately, at a snail's pace-the spunky heroine finds herself torn between her growing affection for Jamie and her long-standing attraction to another actor in her group. Before reaching their destination, the players endure some harrowing, convincingly relayed moments (their wagon comes very close to falling off a cliff with one of the actors trapped inside; Fortune is carried downriver by a sudden flood; and cholera ravages her companions). But even more potentially devastating to Fortune is the misunderstanding that prompts Jamie's departure. Not to worry: a joyous conclusion awaits readers who hang on. These are less apt to be youngsters, however, than hardcore genre fans who don't mind tame romance and megadoses of melodrama. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.