Set in 1890, Martine Leavitt’s novel Buffalo Flats tells the story of Rebecca Leavitt, a seventeen-year-old young woman who has come from Utah with her family to settle in Canada’s Northwest Territory (what would later become Alberta). Rebecca is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and her faith permeates the book. Rebecca loves the land, her family, and her faith. However, she is growing up and questioning her relationship with all three of these parts of her life.
One strength of the book is the fully-realized characters that surround Rebecca. This relatively short novel encloses an entire world of people who have unique personalities and complex histories, and who grow and change. Rebecca lives in a community and a family, and part of her growth into womanhood is learning what it means to not only be her own self, but how to live with others and give them space to be themselves. The other female characters in the book, especially Rebecca’s mother, offer a variety of representations of what it meant to be a Latter-day Saint woman in 19th-century Canada.
Another strength of the book is the matter-of-fact way that it treats faith, something which is still fairly unusual in a nationally published novel. Rebecca’s religion does not just exist in the outward things—Sunday meetings and church socials—but also in the way she lives her life and the choices she makes. Not only that, but religion is as much a help as it is sometimes a hindrance for Rebecca and others in her community, depending on how people understand and apply its teachings. As part of growing up, Rebecca must come to create her own relationship with God and with those around her, learning how to forgive herself and others for their human frailties and how to see others as God sees them. The book opens with a lovely scene depicting Rebecca in conversation with God while sitting on a rock overlooking the prairie near her home. Right from the beginning, the novel depicts a connection with God that is unmediated and personal, and Rebecca continues to build this connection throughout its pages.
Despite being set nearly 150 years ago, this book can provide young readers of today a hopeful example of what growing up and becoming a differentiated adult means. Although some of the specific challenges young readers face have changed, they, like Rebecca must sift through the messages they receive from the world around them and decide what kind of people they would like to be. I particularly liked that the book offers many nuanced examples for Rebecca and that there are few characters who were completely evil. Her choices are the less obvious and harder ones—figuring out what her unique gifts are and how to best use them to build a fulfilling life for herself.
I also appreciated that the ending of the book emphasized the value of community and relationships. In a world where many messages for young people value autonomy and independence, this book is a lovely example of interdependence and care. Rebecca does not fully embrace everything from her family and community, but she also does not fully leave them behind either. Buffalo Flats is an excellent addition to not only the canon of LDS literature, but also to young adult literature in general. Read it and spend some time with Rebecca, and God, as they figure out life together.