A DREAM FOR TOMORROW continues the trip on the Oregon Trail of Elizabeth Martin and her children JT and Ruth Anne, her parents Asa and Clara Dawson, her brother Matthew, his new bride Jess and Brady the freed slave who is traveling with them. They are nearly halfway to their destination but the hardest part of the trip is still ahead of them.

Throughout the trip with its exhaustion and heat, especially during a stretch called the Devil's Backbone, a sun-baked arid area, the Martin-Dawson family's faith remains strong. It is when Elizabeth finally gets a letter from her sister-in-law Malinda that she begins to question if she had been foolhardy to come on this trip. It is unsettling news in a letter that had been mailed to their Kentucky home urging them not to come.

In the midst of it all she must face the feelings she has for the scout Eli Kincaid but she doesn't see how it is possible for her to expect him to settle down. On top of that she doesn't even realize that lawyer Will Bramford is courting her, until others bring it to her attention. With a heavy heart she turns Will down. She doesn't believe she should marry someone she doesn't love.

When they finally reach their destination and start building cabins, a restlessness settles over Elizabeth. Why isn't she as happy as she should be? Eli. Eli has helped lead the wagons that continue to Oregon overland, while she and others chose the water route, but when the overland families join them Eli has not. One morning while looking over the place she planned her cabin, she turns and there he stands. He has taken some time but he realizes that Elizabeth is the one for him.

I absolutely recommend A DREAM FOR TOMORROW to anyone looking for a warm, realistic family-based adventure. This is the second in the series of Homeward on the Oregon Trail books and continues the family saga of traveling the Trail in the 1850s. It has religious undertones but it isn't in your face preaching, just people living and trying to be the best they can in some of the worst circumstances ever faced. The doubts and fears they face and the strength they need to continue can be felt with every word you read. The author [Melody Carlson] has written another fantastic story and I look forward to book 3.