Velada Allard McElroy - The Last December

The Last December

A Novel

The Last December

Eighteen-year-old Pearl Hardisty discovers the small town of Silver Lake in Eastern Oregon has more to offer than dry sage brush, old farmhouses, and unbearable freezing cold winters when she met Frank Bunyard. The kindhearted, handsome cowboy made her glad she decided to move with her family after all. Through stories Frank shares with her she learns about friendship, survival, and an unforgettable story of privation and loss from a small band of Modoc Indians who were left behind after the Modoc war. Then when the tightly knit community of Silver Lake experiences its own tragedy on Christmas Eve in 1894, they learn just how fragile life really is and how important it is to lean on one another and open their hearts and homes to those they once tried to destroy.

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Reviews!

The Last December is a tender account of engaging parallel love stories written upon a picturesque backdrop of true and tragic events punctuating the history of a small Eastern Oregon community in the late 1800’s. Marking the end of the “cowboy and Indian” era, our compassion is tapped by the cruelty and difficulties faced by Wintoka, Thunder Cloud and the Klamath and Modoc Indian tribes. Simultaneously, we are drawn into the sweet romance and young marriage of winsome Pearl Hardisty and her strong and kindhearted cowboy Frank Bunyard. Our hearts are broken when we witness the shocking and disastrous events of one notorious Christmas Eve night that forever changed the small town and its residents. This romantic historic fiction, lovingly written by the granddaughter of two of the central characters, creates both a page-turner and a special tribute! So sit a spell on your front porch with a cup of tea, and venture back in time to the remote Christmas Valley. You, like me, will be happier for the adventure!

The author did a great job in relating the stories she was told by her grand parents. Not a lot is written in this subject matter. I appreciated learning more about the Modoc Indian War. I would like to see the author share more from this genre.

I LOVE this book! It is based on true facts that happened in my state and written in a way that keeps your attention. The love the characters had for their neighbors, family and the true owners of the land is beautiful and that compassion is definitely in the DNA. Velada is a wonderful author and is my grand daughters other grandmother and I am proud to call her family!