STANDING ELK BY CRAIG DRESSLER

trebleheartbooks

This is Christian Western novel. It's very small. In the novel, I met Josh, a young boy, who sees first hand the ugliness of violence. When his mother, Agnes, tries to save a shot up man named Jack, two men come on the property for trouble. Josh witnesses what no young person should ever see. After this incident his whole life is changed. With nowhere to go he makes his home with the Cheyenne tribe. They are kind to him. He learns their way of life. Soon Josh wants to go away alone to become more in touch with the Great Spirit, the Cheyenne's Creator. When he leaves, Josh is known as Lost Elk. When he returns he is known as Standing Elk.

Standing Elk is a seeker. He is always striving to understand where he belongs in life. An old dying Cheyenne man sings a song. It touches Lost Elk's heart. "Do you know who I am? Do you have answers to kingdom come?" When Standing Elk finds the William Bent family, he finds his way. Coming back to consciousness after a terrible bout of pneumonia Standing Elk or Josh hears a little boy reading from a book. The little boy says it's a great adventure story about shipwrecks and such. Standing Elk wants to hear more of the story. Of course, the boy is reading from the Book of Acts in the Holy Bible. This is the beginning of a change in Standing Elk's life. Standing Elk becomes a Child of God wanting to spread the Word of Jesus to other Native Americans.

This book dealt me two new experiences. I have never read a Western. Secondly, I have never read a Christian Western. I am looking forward to reading more books by CraigDressler . The whole book is so descriptive and picturesque. I felt like a time traveller who had entered a book and joined the characters in their experiences.