It is the spring of 1802 the village of Paradise, N.Y. is still reeling from a typhoid epidemic from the previous summer. Elizabeth and Nathaniel Bonner have lost their two-year-old son, Robbie, to the dreadful disease, but they struggle on as always, dealing with many problems- the men in the forests, the twins Lily and Daniel in Elizabeth’s school, and Hannah as a doctor in training.

The 3rd book of the Into the Wilderness series confronts, head-on, the prejudices of the early 19th century. Elizabeth’s objections to the practice of slavery are put to the test when an escaped slave shows up on their property. She must decide whether she is willing to act on her beliefs, even though it puts her family and home in grave danger.

While Elizabeth and Nathaniel undertake a treacherous journey through the endless forests to bring the escaped slave to safety in the north, Hannah embarks on a very different journey to New York City to learn the secrets of a new smallpox vaccination.

The obstacles Hannah faces as a woman and a Mohawk make her confront questions long avoided, about her place in the world. Those questions follow her back to Paradise, where she finds that the medical miracle she brings with her will not cure prejudice or superstition, nor can it solve the problem of slavery.

Hannah faces the decision she has always dreaded: will she make a life for herself in a white world, or among her mother’s people?

Title: Lake in the Clouds
Author: Sara Donati
Publisher: Bantam Books
ISBN: 0553582798
Review written by: Tammi Appelman, Butyoudontlooksick.com ©2006