This is the least known of Patricia McKissack's four DA works. A Picture of Freedom, Clotee's book, is the most well-known. She also wrote Nzingha's Royal Diary and DA's Color Me Dark. McKissack is definitely a skilled author, because I love this book and being so late in the series, I do tend to forget about it, so rereading it is like looking at it for the first time. She crafts characters that come alive, much like the ones I mentioned earlier in Mary Pope Osborne's Standing in the Light. Look to the Hills has a full cast of characters that are black, white and Native American. There are people on all different sides.
The main reason this book is special to me is that it's close to home. The primary setting is Fort Niagara, which I've been to numerous times. Lozette also visits Beau Fleuve, which she doesn't understand at first, because the settlers pronounce it "Buffalo." Yeah, that's my hometown. Although there actually is no firm proof behind where the city name came from and there are many theories, including ones that predate the French-based theories. Lozette is also wowed by Niagara Falls and I can't even tell you how many times I've been there.
The story is very enjoyable. McKissack's work is a bit lighter than others in the series. It's a very quick read like Nzingha's, but also like that book, it's a good read.
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