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West To The Sun

T. G. Good
Outskirts Press, Inc. (2010)
ISBN 9781432751623
Reviewed by Charline Ratcliff for RebeccasReads (03/10)


Imagine this. You are eleven years old and your father matter-of-factly announces one night to you and your family “we’re moving to Oregon.” What goes through your mind? Do you feel fear or are you too stunned by his proclamation? Do thoughts of leaving behind your friends, your house, and everything else you are familiar with cause you to feel resentful? Do you argue with your father or simply accept the situation and attempt to make the best of it? What do you do now that life as you know it will no longer be the same? This book is a brief look into the life of Jeremiah Symons after his father, Jedediah, decides the best way he can provide for his family is to move them to Oregon.

“West To The Sun” is a fictional tale set in a well recounted historical setting. The book is well written and able to hold the reader’s attention. It focuses on the experiences of a young boy, now required to be a man, as he literally walks across the country with his family, their trusty oxen, and the other members of the westward bound wagon train. The author, T. G. Good, does a great job of explaining the tremendous amount of preparation which must precede a move of this magnitude as well as describing the journey itself.

In today’s world most of us think nothing of traveling thousands of miles from our homes. We are completely accustomed to the various forms of transportation our current technology offers us. In fact, many of us have no experience with anything else. Planning a trip is generally nothing more intensive than throwing some clothing into a suitcase or carry on. Did I mention we also manage to travel these tremendous distances in only a matter of hours? It was a sobering realization when, in reading this book, I did the math. I figured out it would require one hundred days at twenty miles per DAY for them to reach their final destination. I drive twenty mph and I shudder with impatience. Of course one hundred days only happens if absolutely nothing goes wrong. Wheels and axles for the wagons could not break. Freak storms could not show up. Wagons could not get stuck in the mud nor could they be allowed to float away in raging rivers. We all know that in life nothing goes according to plan and the same holds true in this story.

Overall I found “West To The Sun” to be a very interesting read even if, at times, it bordered on being overly religious. It is definitely a book that can be enjoyed by readers of any age.