Carlota

I really enjoyed this novel by Scott O'Dell, which is set in the 1840s at the time of the Mexican War. ..Raised to take the place of her dead brother, Carlota can do anything that he could have done. She races her stallion, dives for gold and fights in battles between the Mexicans and Americans. Yet while she enjoys her freedom and pleasing her father, she wants more. She wants to be free to show feelings of tenderness and compassion. Her fathers thinks such feelings are shameful, so Carlota must defy him.