Into the Wilderness: The Long Hunters (Westward America! Book 1)

Set in 1750s Pennsylvania, this novel depicts life in the Allegheny Mountains and the Northeast during the French and Indian War. Noah Wilde is a long hunter—a man who hunts game for settlements and forts and is often away for months at a time. Sixteen-year-old Jessica Matthews is attacked by Ottawa Indians and rescued by Noah, who is wounded in the encounter. As Noah recovers at Jessica's mountain cabin, the two fall in love. However, Noah is secretly spying for the English government and must leave to complete his mission. Noah's involvement in an earlier French versus English battle results in his imprisonment, preventing him from returning to Jessica in time to protect her family from an Indian attack. Her parents and brother are killed, and Jessica is captured by Delaware Indians. After his release, Noah is sent on a new mission with a young George Washington. When he learns what happened to Jessica, he leaves to search for her and risks his life to secure her freedom. While Noah and Jessica are fictional characters, the novel incorporates real historical events, figures, and adventures from the period.