In the 1880s German Lutheran immigrants established a settlement at Sarau, near Nelson. The area has since been renamed Upper Moutere. The author, Leone Morris, discovered diaries written by her grandfather's cousin that capture the place and time of this story and helped her to create Emilie, a 15year old girl struggling against the restrictions of the Lutheran community. Her father, a Lutheran pastor, is extremely strict and insists that it is time for Emilie to take on the responsibilities of being a young lady, and that includes household chores, accepting that education is only for boys, and marriage. It's all so unfair. Emilie is determined to escape to Nelson and work in missionaries in the North Island. She falls in love with Ludwig, an immigrant missionary, who reports back to her father on his missionary work in Waitotara. Ludwig corresponds with Emilie and before long asks her to marry him. Emilie is ecstatic while her parents are not too happy as they feel she is far too young (now 16yrs old). Ludwig returns to Sarau to argue his case that he is the right person for Emilie and Emilie convinces her parents to agree. A great book that relays New Zealand history. ( )

This entire series is a wonderful way to learn history or teach it to adolescents. I find today's generations seem to recall more when they learn through other people (pop songs, celebrity gossip, etc.), so what better way to teach history than through someone else's perspective? Yes, "authentic" diaries would be "better", but would the language really hold the modern student's attention? Did the diary writer know what WOULD be important in the context of history? Probably not.