Name: Ryan LaFerney's review of The Which Way Tree by Elizabeth Crook
Item: The Which Way Tree
Rating: 4
Author: Ryan LaFerney

Elizabeth Crook

"A ripping adventure [with] a show-stopping finale."--Wall Street Journal "The stuff of legends."--Attica Locke "Powerful, sly, and often charming."--Daniel Woodrell A New York Times Editors' Choice pick The poignant odyssey of a tenacious young girl who braves the dangers of the Texas frontier to avenge her mother's death Early one morning in the remote hill country of Texas, a panther savagely attacks a family of homesteaders, mauling a young girl named Samantha and killing her mother, whose final act is to save her daughter's life. Samantha and her half brother, Benjamin, survive, but she is left traumatized, her face horribly scarred. Narrated in Benjamin's beguilingly plainspoken voice, The Which Way Tree is the story of Samantha's unshakeable resolve to stalk and kill the infamous panther, rumored across the Rio Grande to be a demon, and avenge her mother's death. In their quest she and Benjamin, now orphaned, enlist a charismatic Tejano outlaw and a haunted, compassionate preacher with an aging but relentless tracking dog. As the members of this unlikely posse hunt the panther, they are in turn pursued by a hapless but sadistic Confederate soldier with troubled family ties to the preacher and a score to settle. In the tradition of the great pursuit narratives, The Which Way Tree is a breathtaking saga of one steadfast girl's revenge against an implacable and unknowable beast. Yet with the comedic undertones of Benjamin's storytelling, it is also a timeless tale full of warmth and humor, and a testament to the enduring love that carries a sister and brother through a perilous adventure with all the dimensions of a legend.

The Which Way Tree

Emily

"A ripping adventure [with] a show-stopping finale."--Wall Street Journal "The stuff of legends."--Attica Locke "Powerful, sly, and often charming."--Daniel Woodrell The poignant odyssey of a tenacious young girl who braves the dangers of the Texas frontier to avenge her mother's death Early one morning in the remote hill country of Texas, a panther savagely attacks a family of homesteaders, mauling a young girl named Samantha and killing her mother, whose final act is to save her daughter's life. Samantha and her half brother, Benjamin, survive, but she is left traumatized, her face horribly scarred. Narrated in Benjamin's beguilingly plainspoken voice, The Which Way Tree is the story of Samantha's unshakeable resolve to stalk and kill the infamous panther, rumored across the Rio Grande to be a demon, and avenge her mother's death. In their quest she and Benjamin, now orphaned, enlist a charismatic Tejano outlaw and a haunted, compassionate preacher with an aging but relentless tracking dog. As the members of this unlikely posse hunt the panther, they are in turn pursued by a hapless but sadistic Confederate soldier with troubled family ties to the preacher and a score to settle. In the tradition of the great pursuit narratives, The Which Way Tree is a breathtaking saga of one steadfast girl's revenge against an implacable and unknowable beast. Yet with the comedic undertones of Benjamin's storytelling, it is also a timeless tale full of warmth and humor, and a testament to the enduring love that carries a sister and brother through a perilous adventure with all the dimensions of a legend.

Ryan LaFerney

The Which Way Tree is an enthralling adventure set in Civil War-era Texas. This was a very fun, fast-paced story. The Which Way Tree paints a picture of harsh, stark life in the Old West that maybe stretches plausibility a bit in pursuit of a satisfying narrative. What makes this story unique is that it is an epistolary novel. The Which Way Tree is comprised of letters from our narrator Benjamin which serve as his grand jury testimony in the matter of murder and highway robbery, in the County of Bandera, in April of 1866. We look upon the events of the book with our narrator, Benjamin Shreve, guiding us through his past. This gives the novel an antiquated and folksy feel that won me over.

Benjamin tells us about how a panther mauled his 6-year-old half sister (Samantha) while his stepmother fought it long enough to save the girl but how it took her own life. The incident leaves young Sam disfigured and bent on vengeance. Six years later, she and Ben, having also lost their father to “fever,” are living miserably by themselves when the big cat returns. Their efforts to trap the beast fall short, but they find an ally in a Mexican man named Pacheco while they make a dire enemy of a Confederate soldier named Hanlin, who aims a gun at Sam in their first confrontation and loses a finger when she gets off a lucky shot. Also lucky is Hanlin’s knowledge of a dog in the vicinity that specializes in panther tracking and is owned by his uncle, Preacher Dob. After much palaver, Hanlin departs, for a time, while Dob and his old dog join the quest to track the panther, known to some as El Demonio.

The action is suspenseful and fast-paced; the narrative flows seamlessly; the dialogue often laugh-out-loud funny (“Preacher Dobb said, Vengeance belongs to the Lord, Samantha. She said, Only if he can beat me to it.”). Crook’s research is evident in the period details, rhythms of speech, and history.

Benjamin notes that Samantha’s obsession with the panther is like that of Captain Ahab’s obsession with Moby-Dick. That story is an obvious parallel to The Which Way Tree; a less obvious parallel is Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. This book features a diverse cast of travelers, who join Sam and Ben on their adventure.

Sam might remind you of Mattie Ross from True Grit but she's a bit more hell-bent in her ambitions. Give this book a try. You'll grow to love both her and Ben.

Check this book out for a good yarn.

Emily &
The Which Way Tree by Elizabeth Crook

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Emily &The Which Way Tree by Elizabeth Crook

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Emily &
The Which Way Tree by Elizabeth Crook