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Stop that Train!
Geraldine McCaughrean
Fiction
Ages 12 and up
HarperCollins, 2003, 0-06-050749-7
  Cissy doesn't quite know what to expect as she and her family clatter across the prairie in a train towards Florence, Oklahoma. They are going to claim some land on the new frontier and start a new life in the township. One thing she doesn't expect is what she sees when they arrive. When Cissy, her father, her mother, and a handful of assorted other people get off the train, travel-weary and unsure of themselves, all they find is open prairie. Florence does not exist; it is a place that they have to create for themselves.
  At first the people feel totally unequipped for such a state of affairs. Cissy's own parents cannot seem to get along at all, her mother being very upset that they came to this dreadful spot in the first place, and making her feelings vociferously and abundantly clear at frequent intervals. But, with each other's help, the founders of Florence begin their new lives and Florence begins to rise up out of prairie. Then, a new problem presents itself. The townspeople agree that though they don't have much of a town yet they are all sure it will grow once the train station is built. Commerce will come and Florence will prosper. However, angered by the fact that the people of Florence have turned down his offer to buy their claims, the railroad owner refuses to allow his train to stop in Florence. He intends to cut the town off from the world. Now the townsfolk have to find a way to get that train to stop in their town before the town dies.
  This is a gripping story which pulls one along towards the unexpected and extraordinary finale. Part mystery, part western, with delightful characters which leap off the pages, this book is hard to put down. With a delightful sense of humor and a keen understanding of human nature and many of its foibles, the author has created a book which will entertain readers of many ages.

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