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Reviewed by Alice DiNizo for Readers' Favorite
Dakota Blackwood's name means "friend and ally" and he is just that throughout the years with childhood friend Ray, college friend Dirk, and Dakota's brother Dallas. Dakota meets new girl Daisy Forester at the beginning of their senior year of high school and they fall in love, riding Daisy's horses over the Nebraska countryside near their hometown of Curtis. Dakota and Daisy love sitting under a red oak tree in nearby pastureland. They star gaze there, especially at Daisy's favorite "star", Venus, and have picnics for two under their special tree. Then Daisy goes off the University of Iowa while Dakota stays at home at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln where he makes plans to become a firefighter. One by one, Dakota's friends marry and form their lives, and Dakota is best man at their weddings. But when Daisy marries another man, Dakota's heart is broken. He writes to Daisy but she never answers. What does life hold for Dakota Blackwood besides his career as a firefighter?
"Hills of Sorrow" is a moving story of a young man's love for his girl over the years of their young lives. The title comes from a poem that Daisy wrote in high school which begins, "Did you ever take a walk down the hills of sorrow?..the day will come when we will not have to wonder, the leaves of wisdom will fall, giving insight to us all."(page 27). Dakota, Daisy, their fathers Heath Forester and Don Blackwood, Ray Green, Dakota's brother Dallas, and the many other characters are well-created and totally believable. The plot flows smoothly to the end where a great sacrifice is made so that Dakota can live. Readers everywhere will love this little gem of a book.
