Courage to Stand

by Elisa Brinton

Stories of Young Strength
and Triumph in Adversity

Three young American heroines from the mid-1800s must fight for all they hold dear, against impossible odds.

• A headstrong teenager joins the Union army during the American Civil War, but in fighting for her life and the Cause, she must also keep a critical secret of her own.
• A Native American girl is kidnapped by enemy warriors. Desperate to escape, she finds help – and perhaps even love – where she least expects it.
• Driven from their homes by religious persecution and angry mobs, a group of Mormon pioneers is desolate and starving in the middle of a cruel Wyoming winter as Death stalks the company. A young convert struggles to maintain her faith while fighting for her life and for those she loves.
  

Reviews

In Courage to Stand: Stories of Young Strength and Triumph in Adversity, author Elisa Brinton presents three young adult historical fiction stories. Each tale takes place during the mid 1800’s in what is now America. In the story, The High Cost of Unity: The Scourge that is War, Brinton takes readers back to the Civil War Era where a fifteen year old girl fakes her own disappearance so that she can disguise herself as a eighteen year old boy in order to enlist in the Union army. In Traitor to My Blood, readers are taken back to early Native American History where a young girl from the Crow nation is captured by the Cheyenne and rescued by a Sioux warrior. In Answer the Call, Brinton goes back to 1844 where Mormons in America are seeking sanctuary from religious persecution. A young girl and her family make a treacherous voyage from England to America to make a new life while following the Mormon faith.

Although fiction, all three stories become immersed in the historical period. In most cases, historical figures and settings are interwoven within the fictional tale to present an introspective series of themes. One significant theme that emerges is the strength and courage of young women in eras where discrimination and oppression were predominant. The protagonists of each story embody a deep inner strength and independence in situations where hopelessness is overwhelming. Each story touches on other significant issues such as the romantic ideal of war and conflict often overshadows the atrocities and inhumanities that accompany it. Although the stories detail overwhelming adversity, themes of love, faith, and hope, overpower the suffering and provide each woman with a new strength and understanding of humanity.

As historical fiction, the settings are vividly described in great detail. As the author points out in the forward to the story, Traitor to my Blood, there was less research available so there may be some inconsistencies in regards to Native American customs. For instance, the issue of “scalping” was mentioned. Although historians note cases of scalping in early Native American history, it was not as predominant as many now often depict when writing about early Native Americans.

As historical fiction, Courage to Stand is a compelling and well written series of stories. The many plots and themes will inspire reflection regarding current conflicts taking place around the world. For the most part, it is a well researched book that will be enjoyed by readers who appreciate historical fiction rooted in young heroines confronting and overcoming enormous adversity.

- Tracy Roberts, Write Field Services

Elisa Brinton is an extremely bright girl and her knowledge and talents definitely shined through in this anthology of three well-written stories: “High Cost of Unity: The Scourge that is War,” “Traitor to My Blood”, and “Answer the Call.” Though intended for young adult readers, no one will believe when they read them that she is still in middle school herself. She clearly did research on the topics, and the characters were both fascinating and believable. Each story was told from the perspective of a female heroine in the 1800s. The ways in which they were able to overcome hardships, obstacles, and even battles, was very inspiring.

“High Cost of Unit: The Scourge that is War”

This story about the Civil War era draws you in immediately by asking you to solve a mystery: Why does Maria find two Civil War uniforms in the attic at her grandparents’ house? Only later do you find out that the protagonist in this story, Maria’s grandmother Anna, is a courageous girl who will do just about anything to participate in a cause that she feels strongly about. Unexpectedly, it is also a touching love story between Maria’s grandfather and grandmother.

“Traitor to My Blood”

This story will also capture your attention. Right away the reader is brought into the life of Dreamer, a strong-willed Native American girl with a clear idea of what is important in life, despite the wishes and beliefs of her family. The ways in which Dreamer and Red Eagle fall in love and then overcome many obstacles definitely held my attention and kept me hoping for the best for them.

“Answer the Call”

This story told a tale that I am sure that many people do not know much about: The journey of the Latter-day Saints to Utah. I was unaware of the hardships that this group of people faced, and the determination that they had in reaching their destination makes for a very interesting story.

Elisa was able to portray realistic scenes and believable conflicts. I found myself enveloped in the lives of the main characters, admiring their courage and relating to the affection they felt for their families and other loved ones. I would highly recommend these stories to anyone who wants to read about inspirational characters and their magnificent feats. The fact that Elisa is able to write like this at her age is awe-inspiring, in and of itself. I am excited to hear about where Elisa’s talents take her next. She has a fan for life in me!

- Emily Rees, English instructor.

In Courage to Stand: Stories of Young Strength and Triumph in Adversity, author Elisa Brinton’s passion for historical fiction is interwoven into three distinct accounts of United States history. Her writing appeals to the young adult reader, as her stories unfold with vivid descriptions of the adventures the main characters experience.

In The High Cost of Unity: The Scourge That is War Brinton hooks the reader immediately with a twist that creates the enthralling plot for the entire story. As the story unfolds, our Civil War heroine’s personal encounters give the reader a true appreciation for a battle fought in the trenches: “They had masks of great determination…” The reader will gain a true appreciation of a young war heroine’s perspective from a “picket line view.” You won’t want to put it down!

In Traitor to My Blood Brinton portrays the fear and panic embracing Dreamer, a young girl of the Crow Nation, as she deals with her capture by the Cheyenne tribe. The conflict evolves when she must make a decision whether to follow her heart or please her father. Brinton captures the emotional conflict caused by loyalty of love in contrast to obligations to her tribe: “Feelings of sadness and fear crept into my heart…” Dreamer’s turmoil is evoked through an emotional roller coaster that won’t be resolved until she can decide whether or not to be a traitor to her heart. Her own conflict parallels that of the tribes she deals with throughout her adventures.

Get ready for a perilous journey as you encounter a vivid accounting of the trials and tribulations the Mormons faced in the nineteenth century. In Answer the Call, Brinton brilliantly depicts the anguish and turmoil they endured at that time. The reader experiences the Mormons’ tremendous trial of faith while seeking spiritual belonging and peace in their new world of America: “Had we given up everything in England, only to die, one by one, under these tragic circumstances?”

Brinton’s passion comes through loud and clear in her vivid account of historical events. As a brilliant and promising young author, Elisa sets the stage in the form of first-person perspective. The young adult reader will readily identify with all three heroines, driven by their courage and determination to overcome the trials and adversity they experience. The reader will also gain an appreciation of historical events, which created a foundation for a diverse America today. These stories will appeal to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, mixed with riveting action and adventure!

- Nancy Hicks, history, English and drama instructor.

Rating: Excellent!
Reviewed by: John Lehman | View Bio
Posted at BookReview.com

This fictional collection of stories about the heroism of youth in American history begins with a grandmother’s tale of fighting as a man in the Civil War. There’s a sort of Tom-Sawyer-at- his-own-funeral feeling as the young girl disappears from family and friends to reemerge as a male, new recruit for the Union Army. There are complications, of course, the most perplexing is her falling in love with her tentmate who doesn’t know she is a woman. The details of battle and the interactions among characters are credible. As a former high school teacher, I did wonder if a girl reader would be that interested in the military fighting or if a boy would want to see this through the eyes of a girl.

“Traitor to My Blood” is a better story. A Native American girl is stolen from her tribe only to be rescued by a young man from another tribe which is an enemy of her people. Their relationship is respectful (his sister had been abducted so he knows the consequences to the woman of one being a wife-slave). They eventually must live with her tribe and there is a wonderful act of selfishness by the brave her family had wanted her to originally marry. The story not only has a powerful climax but also offers the reader plenty of opportunities to ask, what would I have done under those circumstances.

Reading this last piece it occurred to me that these stories would be an ideal supplement to a middle school or freshman high school history class. They reveal the human emotions behind events of this country’s past; what it was like to be treated as a slave, to fight for what you believe, to be a hero—or in the case of the last story about the long track by Mormons across the country—to survive.

The final episode at first depends a little too much on narrative summary (letters from an aunt), but when we experience the gruesome hardships of the journey through the eyes of the niece we can’t help but feel this girl’s pain: “As we turned to leave him, we heard the wolves howling. They were close by! We had just begun to calm down, or at least to restrain our grief a bit, but this howling brought back the grief in full force. Not even in death would our brother’s body be at peace. He would be exhumed and devoured by the beasts.”

I don’t think that understanding religious plight brings God into the classroom in any inappropriate way, any more than the facts of a history book would. Why do we study history, anyway, when we never seem to learn its lessons? Could it be that we need to do more than study it? In “Courage to Stand” we have a chance to live history. It is doing that which can make a difference in appreciating the past, and in addressing the problems of today.