Richard’s own life often mirrors that of Jamestown, as both are getting a rocky new start. They face challenges and uncertainty, plus connection and sometimes violence in their dealings with the Powhatan with whom Richard shares pipes, knowledge, meals, and looks of “silent friendship.” Richard befriends Na-ta’a-em, a young Powhatan who often rescues Jamestown, whether from starvation, snake bite or attacks from rebellious Powhatan. The scenes that show the developing but still tense friendship between Jamestown and Na-ta’a-em are uplifting. Hovering like guardian angels throughout are Richard’s reliance on God, the Bible and his father’s comforting words of wisdom.

Na-ta’a-em teaches Jamestown survival skills, and the narrative often is focused on rebuilding the fort, council meetings, and the storm-tossed ships, passages that suggest the textures of life. Accounts of atrocities from both sides, including beheadings and scalping, prove wrenching, and Richard, for all his level headed piety, is relatively human: sometimes selfish, growing obsessed with his lost love and making others’s pain or joy solely about himself. Still, this is a hopeful novel, with an emphasis on community building, the power of faith, and cross-cultural friendship, and all that unites us as humans. Especially involving is the well-drawn parallel between Na-ta’a-em’s closeness with his father and Richard’s closeness with Francis and with God.

Takeaway: Uplifting novel of faith, cross-cultural connection, and the settling of Jamestown.

Comparable Titles: Elizabeth Struthers’s A Prayer for Therese, Angela Hunt’s Roanoke.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-