Mary Peace Finley
Award-winning author of books for young people
© Mary Peace Finley 2012
"The Midnight Ride of Blackwell Station" is a beginners' chapter book about the exciting
story of the stealing of a railway station to begin a boom town, Lamar, Colorado. Told
through the eyes of nine-year-old Raephy McDowell, the exciting true saga of a family's
adventures in the old West enthralls and educates while entertaining. Raephy is the child
of a ranch foreman (father) and a telegraph operator (mother), and her curiosity
heightens the excitement of the bizarre tale. The family of four children and two adults live in the
second story of an isolated prairie railroad station. The plot to move Blackwell Station and 'boom' a
town evolves because of ranch owner Amos Black's oppression of his employees and
neighbors. An exciting episode from Colorado's colorful history takes on new life retold
through the eyes of a girl. Detailed black and white illustrations embellish the narrative and
all the splash and color of a Colorado boom town development unfold with style and
grace. "The Midnight Ride of Blackwell Station" is a great read for mid-grade readers,
holding young readers' attention to the page-turning end." --Children’s Bookwatch,
Volume 20, Number 9, September 2010, Midwest Book Review.
"When there are several versions of an historical event, it's a little tricky for an author to
create a fictional account of it, but Mary Peace Finley did an excellent job of choosing
the most likely version and integrating an engaging story for children into the account.
This is a smooth read, with enough local color to move the story along." -- Susan Crites,
Amazon review
