Reviewed by Alice DiNizo for Readers' Favorite

The time period is the early 1860's as the American Civil War is beginning and President Lincoln is calling for men to join the Union Army. Main character Claire is 13 years old and a Metis, which means she is half Canadian and half Native American. Her late mother was an Ojibwa and her father a French Canadian photographer living in the small town of Pembina on the Red River in the Dakota territories. The Metis make a pilgrimage via their ox carts to St. Paul where they trade their buffalo hides for goods. Claire and her father and their bartered ox named Bone Bag begin their own ox cart journey to St. Paul where Claire's father will begin a new photography studio. They encounter wolves, strange frontier families and Native American Sioux. Claire's father dies and at the story's end, Claire sets out bravely on her own for St. Paul.
This is a short but very well-written and edited story of frontier life in the mid 1800's. Claire and her father are well-created characters and their odyssey is believable as are the many people they meet as they make their way to St. Paul and a new life. The storyline plot holds up well throughout the story and the dialogue among characters is authentic. The author obviously knows the history of the Dakota territories and has written a story that hopefully will have at least one or two sequels. "Ox Cart Angel" will be welcome on book shelves everywhere as it tells accurately of pioneer life.