Land of the Blue Mist: A Story of Courage, Love & Survival in the Blue Ridge Mountains
The Land of the Blue Mist, or the Blue Ridge Mountains, is the home of the Principal People, also known as the Cherokee. In the 1820s, Aster is sent by her white father to a boarding school to learn the ways of his people. His intent is for her to then teach the Cherokee how to survive in a white man’s world, because he is going far away to avenge the death of his brother in another land. But then gold is discovered, and greedy politicians are determined to remove the Cherokee from their homeland and send them far out west. As Aster fights to find her place in a divided world, she is determined to save her people from removal.
This is a well-woven book about the events leading up to the Trail of Tears, the impact on the Cherokee at that time, and the fact that some Cherokee did escape from it. As we go with nine-year-old Aster to boarding school, we also watch political events unfolding in the U.S. that will lead to the horrors of removal. The author does a good job of building Aster’s world while also showing the government’s intrusion and her determination to stop it. Real-life events and people are woven in, such as John Ross, Principal Chief, who fought unsuccessfully against the removal. It’s a fictionalized story of the small group of real Cherokee who fought back, hid, negotiated and were able to remain. Full of action, intrigue, politics, romance, and danger, this book is not to be missed. Fans of Native American history and the history of the Blue Ridge Mountains will enjoy this book.
