Between Two Shores By Jocelyn Green

Catherine was named Stands-Apart by her Mohawk mother. And the name has proven to be true. She left her Mohawk village after her mother’s death in search of her absent French father. And she has stayed with him all these years, trying to coax back the father she once knew, despite her sister and brother’s warnings.

Now an old friend is back. And he wants Catherine’s help. But the help he requests will require Catherine to take sides in a war she’s wanted no part in. The woman who has spent most of her life standing in the middle, searching only for a fair trade, will now have to choose where her loyalties lie—and how far they will stretch.

This was the first book I read of Jocelyn Green’s, and I was pleasantly surprised at the depth of this book. It was not what I had come to expect from most Christian historical fiction.

Catherine’s journey did not go where I expected it to. Catherine had to make hard choices. Choices to align with one side of the other, instead of standing in the middle. Choices that took much thought. Choices that made me wonder what I would do if faced with the same situation.

Unlike a lot of historical fiction today, the tension is high as Catherine and her friends try to smuggle grain to a dying country and stumble across a plot that could change the course of the French and Indian War.

Catherine’s relationship with her father also caught my attention. I felt Catherine’s struggles as she tried to mend her relationship with her father, while she also wondered if a relationship was ever too far gone. The author did a good job of showing Catherine giving all to restore her father—but also realizing that a time comes to separate.

The romance in this book was far from ordinary as well. I can’t say much more without spoiling the book, but what seemed very typical for a historical romance was quickly shattered. It was a welcome change (for me, maybe not for the main character). Through it, a wonderful theme of forgiveness was woven into the story.

Between Two Shores is an engaging read which will leave you wondering which shore you would choose long after you close the book.