Review of Lucy Lakota by C.C.Shride

Lucy Dakota: Adventures of a Modern Explorer Book One: Rocky Mountain Beginnings Author: C.S. Shride Genre: Adventure Fiction “You will be physically exhausted. Your emotions will be strained at times; your mind will be taxed to its limit. As a result of surviving these challenges, you will become a better person. You will acquire leadership skills, self-esteem and confidence” (Shride, pg.113) Lucy Dakota begins her journey as an ordinary teenage girl attempting to find her way in the world and desperate for the acceptance of her peers. Pushing her way through the difficult situations that surround her within both middle school and onwards past her high school graduation, she is aided by an adventure scouting camp to shape herself. Through the exploration of the backcountry in Colorado she ends up exploring her own personality and begins to transform into the confident globe trotter she was meant to become. C.S. Shride; the author of the Lucy Dakota: Adventures of a Modern Explorer series has drawn from the experiences she faced in her own adolescence and young adulthood, to create a character and story that is both realistic and empowering. Throughout the novel one cannot help but relating to Lucy, her emotions and attitudes towards her own life are those that many young people may have experienced or may be going through as they read the book. Shride has written a story that will not grow old, because the emotions and situations are eternal. Everybody will struggle with their sense of self and try to find out who they are at some point and the book depicts Lucy’s adventures perfectly and shows her journey of self discovery. Shride too found her lifelong love of high-altitude trekking and mountaineering through a club she found in high school. In her life, it led to a career of twenty years as the owner of a multi-million dollar adventure travel company, where she led thousands of tourists on treks through the wilderness of South America and the mountains in Nepal. Her experience creates a unique and realistic voice for Lucy throughout the novel and pulls together a story that draws you in like no other. In conclusion, I believe that Rocky Mountain Beginnings is a wonderful book that tells a story any preteen or young adult would enjoy. Page after page it fills you and allows you to relate to the main character and empathies with the tale she tells. Filled with adventure, friendship, love and enthusiasm this is a great book to get and I truly believe that everybody should have the chance to enjoy this book. Lucy Dakota: Rocky Mountain Beginnings is highly recommended by Kirsten Bussière, Allbooks Reviews Int.; www.allbooksreviewint.com Lucy Dakota: Adventures of a Modern Explorer Book One: Rocky Mountain Beginnings ISBN: 978-0-9833863-2-2 $12.95 USD www.lucydakota.com Author: C.S. Shride http://csshride.com/ and www.LucyDakota.com ©2011 by My Piece of the Puzzle, LLC www.mypieceofthepuzzle.com