It was Pa’s dream. Now that he and Ma were gone, it was the Ross siblings’ dream. They were going west!

Rueben, Rebecca, Susan, Abraham, Sarah, Joshua, Emily, and Anna band together as a sequence of startling and humorous adventures burst into their lives!

Bringing Pa’s dream to reality presents a lot of challenges. The Ross siblings encounter storms and setbacks, but with Rebecca’s calm presence and Rueben’s protective, guiding hand, all of the children find their roles in this new venture.

Just as they gain confidence, a deadly event at the river threatens their dream. The children face two unknown futures.

Will they have the love and spirit to endure the trials of the trail? Or will they be forced to turn back?

This is Hope on the Horizon and Hope Beyond the River, books one and two of The Ross Family Adventures by Rachel Grace!

These Christian historical fiction stories are wonderful for family-read aloud and children ages 10+! (Perhaps younger at parents’ discretion.)

It’s rare to find a story that I enjoy, which I can also immediately share with my youngest sisters. (As I am 8-12 years older than them, the gap in reading level or appropriate content is often a few years apart at best). However, these Ross Family Adventures were perfect! I read and shared these with my younger siblings right away, and we enjoyed swapping favorites!

I decided to review the first two books together, since they read like one continuous story. Trust me, you’ll want the second book!

The Ross Family Adventures are great for young kingdom seekers, as the series grows gently into deeper expressions of faith. The author wrote from many stages of faith in Jesus, moving into personal convictions and testimony, which leads her readers on a similar journey. I truly appreciated that God-given approach.

The Ross siblings are genuine and good role models of kindness, gentleness, self-control, love, and considering others more highly than self. While their parents are gone, the influence continues through stories and remembrance of lessons, which are applied through the stories. Also, the siblings do not lack adult guidance (except for a short season); it comes from older friends, family members, and a doctor.

I applaud the authoress for doing such a grand job with the incredible task of keeping up with eight main characters! The books are written in third person singular, so we switch up the primary viewpoint character every so often. Each sibling had their own spotlight moment and lesson to learn. Yet, they weave together naturally in everyday life. No one is misplaced or forgotten. Additionally, the siblings had enough distinctiveness in their characteristics that we can tell them apart.

These books are lively and adventurous! They will keep you turning pages!

The illustrations are lovely. I found that the hand-drawn pictures inside the book and the descriptions of the characters were so well aligned, I imagined the Ross family exactly as they were drawn, which was quite fun.

On a historical note, the first book is heavier on fictional flavoring. Yet, we are drawn to the little farm, daily tasks, and suddenness of changing circumstances. The second book digs a little deeper into the 1860s, with attention to dangers and overarching details of landscape and people.

My concerns with book 1-2 are mild-to-none. There is no language, no coarse joking, and no adult content. The children voice a few complaints. There is sadness about the parents’ deaths and children grieve when they think a sibling is dying or dead. There are a few injuries (sprained ankle+arm, girl hits head and passes out, sickness and fevers) and there is plenty of danger (tornado, wagon tips over, boy is swept into raging river, mildly aggressive wild animals). However, the injuries are nondescript and the dangers are swiftly resolved (within a chapter or two), so it is not intense.

Twining through books 1-2, is a singular theme: amazing grace.

I’m raising a Hallelu Yah! Praise the Lord for His marvelous grace – greater than all our sin and sufficient to carry us through every weakness and trial. I cry to the Lord; He sends His grace and His truth (Psalm 57:3-4). What a wonderful Savior!