Jessica [Paperback]

Series review:

The Sunfire Romances are an interesting specimen of books, especially if read from a feminist point of view. There are several rules in place for the construction of a Sunfire book: the protagonist is a young woman, who celebrates her sixteenth birthday during the course of the story. She lives in a turbulent period of time in American history (examples include the World Wars, the American Civil War, the Salem Witch Hunts, etc) and during the course of the story is approached by two handsome and appealing suitors, forming complicated love-triangles. At the end of the story she has reached maturity and found happiness in the arms of the man best suited to her.

These books sound older than they actually are; they were in fact published for the first time in the 1980's, well after the feminist revolution. Therefore it is refreshing to find that these young girls' stories are not solely defined by their quest to find `true love'; often the social conditions and hardships of life take centre stage as the protagonist struggles against moral decisions and the backdrop of the historical crisis going on around her. And although the stories *do* usually end with a kiss, it is always the young heroine's decision as to which beau she will eventually spend her life with. As such, the Sunfire romances are a delicate blend of feminism and femininity: the girls are all domesticated and beautiful; and yet are never reduced to mere prizes to be won by the most worthy suitor.

Book review:

I haven't read all of the Sunfire Romances, but I would like to think that "Jessica" is special within the context of the series. In a world of sappy romance paperbacks when the girl always gets the guy no matter what the obstacles between them, Jessica is parted from her love by the most mundane and unfair of reasons: social disapproval and familial responsibility.

The year is 1873 on the Kansas prairie, and life is a tough struggle for survival - something Jessica's new neighbour Will Reynolds does not seem to be aware of when he rudely rejects a basket of food from Jessica. But Jessica's scorn soon turns to pity when Will's wife dies in childbirth, leaving him with a newborn infant to rear - though she's equally horrified to find that her father has offered her services in caring for the child. Gone is Jessica's freedom as she spends each day in a dreary dugout with a baby, and Will is hardly an appropriate match for her; stiffly polite and often rude, he refuses to call her anything but `Miss Findlay'.

But then disaster strikes; a flood threatens the life of Jessica and the baby. Both are saved by the Cheyenne warrior Wheeling Hawk and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the two fall in love. All the prerequisites of a star-crossed romance is present: a heroic love interest who saves the heroine's life, disapproving family members, secret meetings by night...but Shura has her feet firmly grounded in reality, and young readers may be surprised at the course the book finally decides to take.

The bittersweetness of the book is what makes it memorable; Wheeling Hawk and Jessica simply can't be together. Jessica can't be expected to leave her family and live amongst strangers in the wilderness, and Wheeling Hawk would be neglecting his duty if he abandons his role with his people to live within white civilisation. The last Sunfire Romance that I had read was "Megan" in which the wealthy and well-bred young protagonist ended up with the poor fisherman's son - something that was to be expected in a preteen romance novel, but induced some eye-rolling. "Jessica" however is more realistic, and as such infinitely more sad. The two eventually decide to part, and give each other permission to seek out love amongst their own people - and yet the fact that they part with such maturity and love (as opposed to tears and hurt feelings) is an indication that they *are* supposed to be together. Perhaps Shura wants us to feel grateful that we no longer live in a world where such racial restrictions apply (in *most* cases).

As well as the tragic romance, Shura gives a realistic (if uncomfortable) relationship between Jessica and her father - he is horrified for his daughter's reputation and confines her to the household, disgusted at her attraction to an Indian. His words are harsh and the strained relationship between Patrick Findlay and his daughter (who have previously been so close after her mother's death) is palatable. And a review of this book wouldn't be complete without mention of Melanie Findlay, Jessica's stepmother. In one of the rarest of all archetypes, Melanie is not a wicked stepsister - in fact, she and her stepdaughter are as close as siblings.

"Jessica" may be a much-needed wakeup call for incurable romantics, as in this case love doesn't conquer all. And to paraphrase the famous song, since Jessica can't be with the one she loves, she instead decides to love the one she's with. For a paperback romance novel, it's not easily forgotten.

Jessica has double the usual number of potential suitors for a Sunfire book-- four!! Anyway, I enjoyed this one, and I liked it better reading it at 20 than I did at 12-- the detailed accounts of prairie life, relizing that one's first love may just be an infatuation that would never quite work out. Unlike some of the other Sunfires, this is an eduring title.

This is the first Sunfire book I ever read. I read it when I was a little girl and I still love it now. It is about a girl named Jessica and her struggles in the Great Plains. It is sweet, sappy (as all good romances should be), and interesting.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 5 reviews  4.4 out of 5 stars