Gabrielle — Mary Francis Shura

Is it the showboat magic that makes him love her?

She's a showboat star. Will she have to give it up for love?

Sixteen-year-old Gabrielle Prentice is practicing a new tight rope act for her father's showboat on the banks of the Mississippi River when she falls into the arms of a handsome young farmer -- and in love.

She soon finds that being in love with David Wesley isn't easy. Mrs. Wesley, his mother, looks down on showboat people, and showboat people, especially the talented, aloof Stephen Dubois, do not think mush of farmers. But Gabrielle is determined to pursue her dream of life on land. She convinces her father to let her accept an invitation grudgingly extended by Mrs. Wesley to spend a week on the family farm.

Life on the farm is not what Gabrielle had imagined. David is different, too. Has Gabrielle been dreaming of the wrong love? And is she ready to face what she really wants?