Standing in the Light: The Captive Diary of Catharine Carey Logan (Dear America)

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Summary: standing in the light
Review: Catharine Carey Logan, or better known a Catey, is a Quaker girl living in the Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania. Catey and her family are frightened by reports of Indian raids, but they believe that the Indians will leave them alone if they show trust and love to them.
That all changes when Catey and her brother Tomas are captured while on their way to school.
Catey is determined not to keep the Indian ways, but she finds herself liking it after a while. And she falls in love with an Indian brave named Snow Hunter who was actually a captive white like her. But when given the chance to go back to her village, will Catey follow the leading of her heart?

I absolutely love this book. Even though it's sad enough to make you want to cry, it possesses a sort of charm that keeps you reading till the end.
I felt so sorry for Catey. And you will too, once you read this book. I won't spill the beans regarding the ending, so you'll just have to read it your self. I promise you, you won't be sorry!

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Summary: THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ IN MY LIFE AND I HATE TO READ
Review: I am a college student at home on summer break, and because my mother is a teacher, we have a variety of children's books sitting around the house. I just spent an enjoyable afternoon reading through Mary Pope Osborne's Standing in the Light.

Though the book is targeted at 4th - 7th grades, it is well-written enough to appeal to older readers. I found several passages of the book to be particularly poetic, and the simple, clear writing, while making the book easy to read, was quite elegant in its brevity. Many adult writers could learn from Osborne's style.

The story was certainly compelling enough, if a bit slow at the beginning. Perhaps because I'm an older reader and was able to zip through the book fairly quickly, I didn't find the rest of it to drag at all, and I became increasingly absorbed in the story.

While this book is very good (I give it three stars not because I think it is deficient, but because I'm very sparing with four and five star ratings), I would like to mention that conservative Christian parents might want to be aware that the underlying worldview of this book is very inclusivist, with the implication that all religions are equally valid. Religious tolerance is certainly a good lesson, and it is an important theme of this book. At the same time, Osborne's angle on it seems to me to be an affirmation of the equality of all religions. While I think we can agree about the equality of all people, clearly, most people who actually believe in a religion consider it unique. That said, I certainly wouldn't say that parents shouldn't allow children to read this book; it could possibly be a good springboard for discussion on both tolerance and the uniqueness of Christianity.

(The above comments, of course, were directed solely toward Christian parents who might want to be aware of such things, and were not meant as an absolute criticism on the book. Please don't be offended if Osborne's view is the same as yours. I'm not in the habit of disliking books just because the point of view disagrees with mine, but I write simply because I know parents like to know such things.)

I also have to mention another thing that slightly annoyed me throughout the book, which was the incorrect use of "thee" and the absence of the word "thou." Now, perhaps I should look this up to confirm it, but I do not believe that the Quakers used "thee" as a nominative pronoun. The characters in this book, however, say things such as "Thee is" and even "Thee are." The problem, here, of course, is that the subject of a sentence should be "thou," not "thee," and also that "thee" is a singular pronoun, not a plural. Also, the correct verb with "thou" is "art," not "is." Sometimes, also, Osborne uses the "thou" verb conjugation (adding an "st" at the end of the verb) with a third-person subject, such as "God dost," which is also completely incorrect. Now, if the Quakers actually spoke with incorrect archaic English, then I am certainly incorrect in my criticism. However, the constant misuse of the pronouns in the dialogue did continually grate on my nerves.

These long criticisms aside, however, Standing in the Light is a well-written book.

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Summary: GREAT!!!
Review: I read this book about a year ago. The story has still held on to me. I loved this book more than a lot of the books I have read. It is a book that any age can enjoy. I loved it because the tale of this girl from a town where everyone is afraid of the indians, gets captured by them and learns to love them. Has a great ending. It is a book that I could read again and again. I would recomend this book to everyone!

Rating:
Summary: standing in the light
Review: Standing in the Light is a book told in diary form about a young 13 year old girl named Catherine Carey Logan (Caty) who was growing up in the 1700's in 1763. Who's hardest problems in life are boy trouble and math. When rumors go around that there has been Indian raids talk begins , but Catharine farther believe's that if they trust and love the Indians and they will not hurt them. Catharine tries hard to hold on to these words and trust her fathers way.
A few weeks later Catherine and her brother Thomas are captured by Indians of the Lenape Tribe, in Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania while walking to school. During there travel to the Indian village Thomas grow's weaker and weaker and will not talk. Catharine begin to fear for her brother life taking day by day which she can no longer tell as time goes on days just seem to blend together. When Thomas is no longer Strong enough to walk an Indian carry him the way. They sleep in places like clearing, shelter of boughs,rock shelter . And eat things like cornmeal and sometimes deer meat.
When they get to the Indian Village, Catherine lives in a hut with two other Indians Little cloud and her mother White owl and her baby who has not been named yet. They name Caty after White owl child who died from the melees (Chillie) . Catherine and her brother are separated the next day. That makes Catherine upset and worried. Caty demands that she will not respect them in till her brother is returned to her . Catharine talks bad things about them right to there face in her language and yell at the children they can not understand her but by the tone of her voice the children now she is mad and begin to cry but in stead of this making Catharine feel better, it make her feel even more guilty inside.
While at the Indian village Caty meet and other white captive who was 17 years old and captured 9 years befor. At first she despite him. But as time goes on she finds out things from him like where her brother is, things about the tribe and ways of life. Without even realizing it she Begin's to like him. Breaking her own threats. Caty calls him Snow hunter because that is what his Indian name means in English. Snow hunter takes dreams very seriously so when Catharine tells him about her dream were Thomas is very sick. He decided to bring Catharine to the other village were Thomas is. When they arrive there they find that Caty dream was giving them a sign. Thomas is indeed very sick and Catharine is allowed to stay the night with him. The next morning when Thomas sits up and ask for food the Indians decides that the great spirits want Thomas to live with Caty. And her brother is allowed to go back to Catharine village to live with her and her Indian family.
As days go on Caty and Thomas feel more content with there new life and slowly leave there old one in the past. Snow hunter has come fund of Caty and the same goes for her feeling for him. Finally Snow hunter asked Catharine to marry him. But befor Caty could answer he disappeared on a hunt. Having heard talk of white's attacking the Indians fled in the woods were they stayed in a cave for days. When they no longer feared they were going to be attack they return to there village to find it the same has they had left it. But soon after there were home white solder came out of no where recapturing Catharine and Thomas.
Now returned to her own white family Caty no longer feels at home with these people and longs to be back with her Indian family. Letting her farther read her diary only brings sham to him and Caty parents tell Thomas and her not to share the time with the Indains with anyone else. Caty never did return to school or married. But her farther home taught her. Caty became a school teacher.
Years later Thomas gather information about a boy who had been captured by the lenape in 1756. His name was John MCcloud. John was 9 years old at his time of being capture in would have been 17 years old in 1764, the approximate age of Snow hunter. According to various sources, John MCcloud was killed by soldiers in the fall of 1764.
I absolutely enjoyed this book. I really like the fact that is was Indian captures, because this is my favorite. I also liked the fact that Catharine told the story through her own perspective. I could better understand her situation. The fact that a girl almost my age was telling the story gave me a gaze into the past. I can actually say I saw the story through Catharine's eyes. I gave this book five stars over all.
BY: Alisha Somma

Rating:
Summary: A great captive story
Review: Standing in the Light was a wonderful Dear America book, and one I could read over and over.

It tells, in diary form, about 13 year old Caty Logan who is growing up in her Quaker village in the 1760's. She is perfectly happy, with boys, learning housewifery, and schoolwork to keep her busy - but that all changes one day when she and her younger brother are captured by Lenape Indians.

At first Caty is desperate: she hates living with the rough Indians, who watch her diary writing curiously and force her to follow their Indian ways. But later, she learns that they are good people, though different than the Quakers, and she begins to make friends - and loved ones.

This was a great book! You really care about what will happen, if Caty will stay with them or return to her village. It was sad, but I love it!

I'd recommend this for ages 10 - 14, and I'd recommend some other captive stories: Trouble's Daughter, I Am Regina, Indian Captive, and Calico Captive.

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Summary: For One Of My Favorite Books
Review: Standing In The Light was one of the best books I've ever read in my entire life. Thinking over the story makes me want to weep. It's about a young Quaker girl named Catherine Logan. She is captured by the Lenape Indians along with her little brother Thomas. She ends up falling in love with the head Indian warrior. Snow Hunter. Who was once a Quaker like her. But captured by Indians at a very young age and brought up by them. But they can't marry because in the eyes of Catherine's people- he is a savage. This book toutched my heart and I loved it. Read this book you will not regret it.

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Summary: Standing in the Light- A Review
Review: The book called Standing in the Light by Mary Pope Osborne is a very good book. It is written in diary form. The story takes place in Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania in 1763. The main characters are Catharine Logan and her little brother, Thomas Logan. In Standing in the Light, Catharine realizes that she likes a guy who she's known for a long time. Later she finds out that there are Indiansnear where she lives that have beencapturing and killing people. One day when she and her brother were walking to school they get captured by Indians. They separated Catharine from Thomas. In Catharine's camp she meetsan Indian boy named Wine-lo-wich, which means Snow Hunter,who was also captured by Indians when he was young. Catharine laterrealizes that she loves Snow Hunter. Soon after that Snow Hunter disappearsafter he goes on a hunting trip. If you want to find out what happened to Snow Hunter and if Catharine and Thomas ever get home, you'll have to read Standing in the Light by Mary Pope Osborne. I thought that it was a wonderful book.

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Summary: Another great Dear America book!
Review: Thirteen year old Catharine Carey Logan is the oldest of four children in a Quaker farm family living in the Delaware Valley in Pennsylvania in 1763. One morning, when Catharine and her seven year old brother, Thomas, are walking to school, when suddenly, Indians capture them. At first, Catharine is desperatley unhappy, but as the months go by, she begins to feel at peace, and falls in love with another captive - one captured as a little boy, ten years ago, who now has turned into an Indian. Then, English soldiers raid the village and force Catharine and Thomas to return to their family. Catharine feels out of place back home. She writes of all this in her diary. Her diary was another wonderful book in the Dear America series.

Rating:
Summary: Standing in the Light
Review: This book is about Catherine Logan, or Caty, a teenage Quacker girl, in a time where the whites are against the Indians. There are several Indian raids in the village because of the broken promises made by the white settlers. Then while walking to school, she and her brother are captured by the Lenape tribe. Although Caty fears for their lives, they are instead given to the two members of the tribe whose children were killed by the measles. Caty, who once resented and feared Indians, learns to understand their culture and beliefs through her friendship with Snow Hunter, who was captured by the Lenape nine years before. She begins to fall in love with him. Soon enough, she in taken back to her white village and must adapt again to her Quaker lifestyle. She no longer feels connected to her family or friends and wishes she could return to being an Indian. Caty not only learns that Indians are not the enemy, but that they are not that different from she herself.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Wonderful!
Review: This book is really great. Read it!