Under a Painted Sky

                                                                                               by Stacey Lee 


     An unlikely tale of friendship, hardship and love.  This is a historical fiction set in the old west of the United States in the year 1849.  Two unlikely girls are forced to become companions on their escape trek along the trail towards California.  Annamae (Andy) is an escaped slave that is trying to meet up with her brother at Harp Falls and Samantha is a young Chinese woman who killed her attacker and must flee to avoid the hangman's noose.  After Annamae helps Samantha, they decide to flee together under the disguise of young boys, not women.
     In the process of cooking a snake, Andy and Sammy attract a small group of cowboys.  They make a deal with the group to share their meal for a ride on their horses.  This deal works well for the next day, but Andy and Sammy conclude that they can travel faster and safer with the boys.  Sammy gambles it all on who can catch a fish faster.  The girls barely win and avoid having to sing naked in the cold water.  The deal is that they will travel with the ramada, Andy will cook and Sammy will give the boys lessons in french and play her violin and the boys will give them their protection and rides on the horses.
     This arrangement works fairly well and improves as they pass through Fort Kearney and the boys acquire supplies for the journey.  Along the path, the group stops a stampede, meets up with other settlers and are gifted with a mule, avoid death by drowning, contract cholera, run into the dangerous broken hand gang and fall in love.   Their journey is fraught with danger, compassion, and friendship.
Do the boys figure out their secret? Can Andy and Sammy trust the boys with their lives, or is it safer for them to maintain their disguises?  All I can tell you is that "Under a Painted Sky" all sorts of things can happen!
     This is a very interesting read and a time frame that I have never really read a lot about.  There is the recurring theme that life and death situations can have people react and do incredible things.  I am going to give this a 4 out of 5 stars.  It was not 100% believable, for me.  Sammy was born in New York and was moving west with her father during a time when most Chinese were entering the west from California, it seemed far fetched for Sammy to be coming from New York.  I give the author credit however, for a very entertaining read!

Link 

Chinese Migration to the United States

California Gold Rush

The Oregon Trail

Author: Stacey Lee