Ramona / Helen Hunt Jackson / 424 pages

This best seller from 1884 was quite good.  Reading this gives you a realization of the beliefs and attitudes of people at the time out in California where major transitions were happening.
Mexico had lost the west coast and the people living with land grants from Spain and Mexico were losing their lands.  Far more, however, this book deals with the plight of the west coast Indians who also lost their lands to Americans who came west and could file on any land they wanted to homestead. All they needed to do was file at the land office and pay the fee and the land was theirs.  The Indians didn't understand how land that had always been theirs could be taken away.  They were driven out, losing not only their homes, but their herds, horses, crops, and all livelihood.  The attitude toward the Indians was as toward a irritation - stamp it out. 
   Another main force in the book is the legacy of the Franciscan priests who originally started the missions and worked with the Indians.  Ramona is quite religious in the book.  Against this background is set a romance between Ramona who is half Indian and Alessandro, an Indian.  Yikes!  One would rather see one's sister dead rather than marry an Indian.  It is a sad story of great love and yet, I had to keep reading even though I know it is doomed.  Really excellent book.