Book Review: Indian Paintbrush (Carson Chronicles Book 3) by John A. Heldt

Wonderful historical details add to this time travel family drama/adventure.

Indian Paintbrush (Carson Chronicles Book 3)
by John A. Heldt

File Size: 645 KB
Print Length: 419 pages
Publication Date: November 26, 2018
Language: English
ASIN: B07KWHMRFW
Genre: Time Travel Romance
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Arizona, December 1943. After surviving perilous six-month journeys to 1889 and 1918, the Carsons, five siblings from the present day, seek a respite in their home state. While Adam and Greg settle down with their Progressive Era brides, Natalie and Caitlin start romances with wartime aviators and Cody befriends a Japanese family in an internment camp. The time travelers regroup, bury some ghosts, and continue their search for their missing parents. Then old problems return, new ones emerge, and a peaceful hiatus becomes a race for survival. In INDIAN PAINTBRUSH, the sequel to RIVER RISING and THE MEMORY TREE, several young adults find love and adventure as they navigate the home front during the height of World War II.

Review:
This continues to time travel adventures of the Carson family. The Carson siblings, Adam and his pregnant wife, Bridget, Greg and his new wife Patricia, Natalie, and the twins, Cody and Caitlin, travel from 1918 to arrive in Arizona in December 1943. They move to Phoenix where they acquire jobs and make friends. Natalie and Caitlin work as mechanics at the airfield and begin romances with a pilot instructor and a pilot trainee respectfully. Cody’s job brings him to a Japanese family in an internment camp. He makes friends with a young woman and seeks a way to help her family.

Despite getting jobs, there are those who challenge the Carson men for not enlisting. There are also rumors spread to the FBI that raise questions about a Carson fugitive from 1889. This makes matters tense for the sibling family.

Meanwhile parents, Tim and Caroline, have tried to meet the children in 1943 but they arrive too early, September in Pennsylvania instead of December in Arizona. They visit some of the same ‘friends’ of the young people but experience different circumstances as they are in a different time stream. Their search for the children brushes and slips by like ships barely passing in the dark.

I found the historical settings in 1943-44 intriguing, including the Japanese internment camp. It is quickly apparent that the young people are stepping into realms fraught with emotional turmoil and difficult decisions regarding their caring and sharing. I was shaking my head as I saw the troubles they were creating for themselves. It was interesting to see how author Heldt would treat each dilemma. As is the pattern from the prior books, the last chapters tense up with danger and an exciting race to the next time jump… where adventures will no doubt continue in the next book.

I enjoy how the story is told in chapters that feature views from the alternating characters. Mr. Heldt does a good job of blending ‘real-to-life’ situations (like new babies and new romance) with the challenges of time travel issues. I recommend this to readers who enjoy family fiction with time travel as a bonus.

Source: 12/18 Author review request. This qualifies for 2019TBR, 2019Alphabet and Author Review Goals.