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Follow the River
Follow the River
Author: James Alexander Thom
Mary Ingles was twenty-three, married, and pregnant, when Shawnee Indians invaded her peaceful Virginia settlement, killed the men and women, then took her captive. For months, she lived with them, unbroken, until she escaped, and followed a thousand mile trail to freedom--an extraordinary story of a pioneer woman who risked her life to return t...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780345338549
ISBN-10: 0345338545
Publication Date: 11/12/1986
Pages: 416
Reading Level: Young Adult
Rating:
  • Currently 4.2/5 Stars.
 145

4.2 stars, based on 145 ratings
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Audio CD
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed Follow the River on
Helpful Score: 7
This book absolutely blew me away. It's one of the best historical novels I've ever read. Told in well-researched and sometimes excruciating detail, it chronicles the incredible journey of Mary Ingles over almost 1000 miles of uncharted wilderness back to her family after being kidnapped by Shawnee Indians. The writing is superb and puts you right in the middle of the action. You'll feel as if you are stumbling along with Mary as she climbs mountains, scales cliffs and endures freezing temperatures with only one blanket to fend off the cold.

I cannot reccommend this book highly enough.
reviewed Follow the River on + 42 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
Based on the true account of the odeal of Mary Ingles after being kidnapped by Indians and her miraculous escape. After suffering unspeakable horror she manages to escape only to begin another battle to find her way home. Couldn't put it down!
marylynn avatar reviewed Follow the River on + 31 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
This is an unbelievable story. It makes you really think about what a person can endure. Thom is a great storyteller. You are engrossed, you feel like you're part of the story. I could hardly put this book down and I've read it several times over. The other Thom books I have read are the same.
reviewed Follow the River on + 209 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
This is one of my favorite books! He's an excellent writer and the historical background and story are intriguing! Hard to put down!
Cheryl-Sam avatar reviewed Follow the River on + 39 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
This book is based on an actual woman who was kidnapped by indians and taken to live with them. The rest is the author's imagination about what happened. The story kept me on the edge of my seat and was hard to put down. This would be a book on my top 10 list. I recommended this book for my reading group and they loved it.
Read All 58 Book Reviews of "Follow the River"

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bmanning avatar reviewed Follow the River on + 2 more book reviews
Tremendous story, a real page turner, and knowing it is a true story makes it so compeling.
reviewed Follow the River on + 32 more book reviews
This is a wonderful story of a woman's strength and determination. For me the first chapter was very hard emotionally to get past but it is a very worth while book to read. James Alexander Thom is one of my favorite authors. He does a truly nice job of writting these true stories for us to enjoy.
nuzenurs avatar reviewed Follow the River on
5 star rating
Loved this book. Find it very interesting since it takes place in the Allegheny mountains where we live.
reviewed Follow the River on
Follow the River is a nail biting re-telling of the true story of Mary Ingles. This young, 23 year-d mother was captured by Shawnee Indians during French and Indian war times. This is the account of her capture, escape, and long journey home through hundreds of men's of Appalachian wilderness. I found it to be well-written and carefully paced to keep the pages turning. It's a story that will be of special interest to readers with some personal interest in that particular geographical setting.
reviewed Follow the River on + 4 more book reviews
My friend, who is a retired history teacher, recommended this book. It tells the true story of a frontier woman's escape and amazing journey home after she is kidnapped by Shawnee Indians. The author went to great lengths to capture as many factual details as he could of her journey, even following her route himself. I was riveted from the very beginning and couldn't put it down, reading most of it in one sitting.
reviewed Follow the River on + 4 more book reviews
Set in the mid 1700's, the fictionalized tale of Mary Draper Ingles capture and escape from Indians is an enjoyable read for a glimpse into what life was like in, what was then, the "frontier west." The author fictionalized a true story but he carefully researched the area west of the Appalachians.
easttexmerry avatar reviewed Follow the River on + 40 more book reviews
Incredible story based on fact. It started out very fast and interesting, but began to drag from the middle to the end of the book. Still a good historical based read.


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