It is only addressed in a passing in book 2, but very well established in book 1. I think another area where the reader would benefit from the experience of the first book is regarding the politics of the time – the English Civil War and who The Diggers were. You would not have the background of how Abigail fits into her position with the Fanshawes. You would not be able to understand the love between Lady Katherine and Ralph without having experienced their time with The Diggers in book 1. There is an expectation of some knowledge of the characters here, and the reader would not have as deep of an understanding of the choices the characters make without the experience of book 1. Whereas the first book, Shadow on the Highway, is focused on the story from the perspective of Abigail Chaplin, Spirit of the Highway tells the story from the perspective of her brother, Ralph Chaplin. Spirit of the Highway is the second book in The Highway trilogy and I feel that it is certainly beneficial to read these books in order, despite it being mentioned in a couple places that it could be a stand-alone novel. I feel that the author handled very well a balance between political, military, and relationship elements in the story that would appeal to both men and women. Only a small portion of the novel is set in a warfare setting, which is another rarity in male led novels.

Not only is it a little more rare to have a male protagonist in historical fiction, but it is even more refreshing that it is in a young adult directed novel. The first thing I have to say about this book was how refreshing it was to have a male protagonist/narrator.

Spirit of the Highway by Deborah Swift