Sing Down the Moon is the third book I’ve read by Scott O’Dell. He is a masterful storyteller of shorter, historically-based books which often feature native peoples as the main characters. He uses beautiful settings into which he crafts his stories. They are full of trial and hardship, often include a journey with unexpected twists, but generally, resolve to a happy ending amidst the given circumstances. Last year I read, Island of the Blue Dolphin, set on an island far off the California Coast, and The Black Peal set on East Baja and Vermillion Sea between the Peninsula and Mainland Mexico.

I’m sure this list comes across as quite ambitious. It is but here’s the thing, I am not trying to read everything on this list in just one month. Sure some of them I will, but the majority of them are slow reads meant to be mulled over and chewed on a bit as I slowly work through them.