FINDING PAPA

An old-fashioned tale with a modern sensibility about men's and women's roles, this novel picks up where Saving Damaris (1989) left off. Motherless Abby narrates the story of her train trek west with older siblings Joel and Damaris. Their father is supposed to meet them in San Francisco; due to a train wreck, the four of them are reunited prematurely. A good-natured, fortune- hunting ne'er-do-well, Papa seems distractedly happy to be with his children but wastes no time in sending them ahead alone while he firms up his prospecting deals. This is but one of the events that lead the older children to believe that they must rely on themselves; taking their fates into their own hands, Damaris and Joel prepare a more stable future for Abby. Leonard pens a fast-paced adventure of children who must ultimately confront the fallibility of adults. Meanwhile, the reader is regaled with some wonderfully funny, colorful characters—a spinster about to cut loose, a matron and her terrible toddler. Authentic history; fine entertainment. (Fiction. 8-12)