Dakota Born

I enjoyed getting to know these new characters. Very good

Dakota Born is the story of Lindsay Synder who, deciding she needs a change in her life and needs to get away from ex-boyfriend Monte, moves to Buffalo Valley to become a teacher. Buffalo Valley is a small town that has fallen on hard times and is on the verge of becoming a ghost town. Lindsay brings hope for the future to the town.Dakota Born is an absolutely wonderful book. The characters are very well developed. They all interact with each other as is often the case in small towns. The characters are all very likable (well, maybe not Monte) and believable. I found Brandon and Joanie to be two characters in the book that I really liked and was hoping would resolve their problems (hopefully in the second or third book they will).This book runs the gammit of emotions. There are funny parts and parts that will bring tears to your eyes. Ms. Macomber writes about people and places that you can believe in and cheer for until the end. This is definitely a book you'll want to read more than once.

Although I haven't yet read this book, I wanted to give an outstanding recommendation via my 80-year-old mother who was born and raised in North Dakota and was a schoolteacher there in the 1940s. She grabbed the book from me while we were traveling in the South Dakota together earlier this month and despite her complaint of "small print" (she has vision difficulties) she couldn't put it down. She couldn't stop remarking on how much she was loving DAKOTA BORN. For a person who reads only one or two books a month, this is outstanding praise.

I received Ms. Macomer's latest book "Dakota Born" in the mail yesterday and finished reading it this morning. I thoughly enjoyed it. Having spent most of my life in a small town I can relate to this story. The characters of Lindsay, Gage, Brandon, Joanie, Rachael, Heath, Buffalo Bob, Merrily, and Hattie are all appealing and well developed. Their lives all entwine with each other for a very entertaining story. I was especially glad to see Lindsey and Gage finally get together and Gage's half brother Kevin get to live his dream. Was disappointed that the problems Brandon and Joanie are having did not get resolved in this book. Also, the storylines of Rachael and Heath, Sarah and Dennis, Buffalo Bob and Merrily left me wondering. Hopefully there will be more of their storylines in "Dakota Home". Cannot wait until September 2000 to see what happens in Buffalo Valley. Great book which I couldn't put down - ENJOY....

Buffalo Valley, North Dakota appears to be a town doomed to die in spite the courage and desire of the locals to preserve their lifestyle. Adding to the townsfolk's worries is the recent death of the schoolteacher with no replacement prospect imminently on the horizon.Needing to escape her troubled relationship with no future, Savannah resident Lindsay Snyder flees to Buffalo Valley. She remembers spending many happy summers in the hometown of her grandparents and hopes to recapture some of those feelings rather than remain in a fruitless relationship. Lindsay signs a contract to teach at the high school for one year. Instead of the anticipated boredom, Lindsay loves the job almost as much as she loves local rancher Gabe Sinclair. However, though she tries very hard to belong, the townsfolk make her feel like an outsider and Gabe refuses to open up his heart because he expects the outsider to return to Georgia.DAKOTA BORN is more than just a regional contemporary romance. The tale centers on the residents' reverence to the spirit of small town living even when the future seems very bleak. The lead couple is a wonderful pair and the support cast brings North Dakota to life more so than the movie, Fargo. It is the local residents who turn New York Times best-selling author Debbie Macomber's latest work into a triumph of the human spirit leaving fans wanting an earlier release to the remaining two novels.Harriet Klausner