Oh, Kentucky!

Engaging characters skillfully immersed in a convincing historical milieu animate this tale by the author of Sable Flanigan . Boonesborough is still a frontier fort harassed by Indian attacks when 16-year-old Kitty Gentry and her family are welcomed there by Daniel and Rebecca Boone in 1775. From deforesting and planting to building crude furniture, the Gentrys settle into the arduous but rewarding work of making their homestead livable, and Kitty promptly captures the eye of dashing Cullen Claiborne, one of the fort's scouts. When Kitty's family is murdered by Indians, she is determined to stay in Kentucky. She marries Cullen as the small community braces itself for more trouble: the British are supporting Indian raids as part of their effort to suppress the colonials' rebellion. The pioneers gamely withstand a grueling siege, but after it ends, Kitty loses Cullen in an Indian ambush. Even as she grieves, Kitty fashions an independent existence for herself and her young son, running a school for the fort's children. Finally she remarries, leaving the relative safety of the fort to cultivate a beloved farm as the wild territory prospers, moving toward statehood. (Oct.)