I’ve read more than my fair share of “pioneers traveling west” books.  Charlotte’s Rose, while not an obvious stand-out, does put a slightly different twist on the genre.  Charlotte and her father are Mormons, traveling with a handcart company from Iowa City to Utah.  Instead of riding in a comfy covered wagon, they’re pushing their belongings across the country!  Charlotte makes the journey even harder on herself, when she volunteers to carry and care for a motherless newborn baby until the baby’s father can come to terms with his wife’s death.  The book is based on a true account of a pioneer girl carrying a baby across the prairie, and I am in awe of that girl’s courage.  I struggled to care for a newborn in the comfort of my own home!