George Gleason

Last Updated on June 7, 2022, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 173

[The No-Return Trail ] is told from the viewpoint of Nancy Kelsey…. Unfortunately, what should be rattling good historical fiction comes off as only modestly interesting due to a few improbabilities (jelly made of crabapples and choke-cherries in May; poor travelers having rubberized sheets and matches) and a lot...

(The entire section contains 173 words.)

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[The No-Return Trail] is told from the viewpoint of Nancy Kelsey…. Unfortunately, what should be rattling good historical fiction comes off as only modestly interesting due to a few improbabilities (jelly made of crabapples and choke-cherries in May; poor travelers having rubberized sheets and matches) and a lot of talk taking the place of suspense. (pp. 94-5)

George Gleason, "Book Reviews: 'The No-Return Trail'," in School Library Journal (reprinted from the April, 1978 issue of School Library Journal, published by R. R. Bowker Co./A Xerox Corporation; copyright © 1978), Vol. 24, No. 8, April, 1978, pp. 94-5.

[The travelers in The No-Return Trail face] quicksand, illness, hunger, dissension; but none of this is dramatized, and in fact there's a disappointing tameness to the whole narrative. Similarly Nancy, despite being "strong as an ox" (her husband's boast) and "spunky" too, and despite ending the trip with an almost ecstatic love for life and for her husband, comes across as oddly bland.