Review of Leota's Garden (Paperback)

Leota Reinhardt only has to look out her window to see how much her life has changed.Now 84 years old, her once comfortable little house with its abundant garden shows the effects of years of neglect, just as Leota shows the effect of years of yeaars of strained contact with her daughter and son.She is not prepared for the changes that will come into her life, a granddaughter who is dertermined to follow the promptings of the Spirit, a young college student, motivated by getting a grade, touched by goodness and Leota's own indominatable spirit.Francine Rivers is well known in among Christian readers (this is the first of her books I have read) and it can be a bit disconcerting to read the characters inner dialogue with a Higher Power.The characters are well developed and evolve, not change magicly...which is good.I was worried they would all see the light and the book would end.I liked many of these characters too much to be cheated that way.I hesitated to pick this up, but I am glad I did.



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Review of The Big Blowdown (Paperback)

Fans of George Pelecanos will not be disappointed in this excellent novel. Set in D.C. during the years just before and after WWII, his familiar cast of characters inhabit a world of hope and violence that somehow seemsappropriate to the American Dream. The plot is engaging and believable, theaction is fast paced, and the character portrayals are as satisfying as areader could want. This is a great story of friendship, betrayal and flawedredemption. Much more than just a 'crime novel' (and this is true of hisother books as well) The Big Blowdown evokes a time when everthing seemedpossible, from great success to 'the Big Blowdown' (atomic annihilation)and tells the story a few immigrant kids whose future turns out to be quitedifferent from any they would have imagined.

Reading a Pelecanos bookalways leaves me feeling as though I had touched a piece of real life. Thisbook has the added appeal of touching a real piece of time gone by as well.Very satisfying. I highly recommend it.



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Review of A New Song (The Mitford Years, Book 5) (Paperback)

Having always been a homebody, I identified right away with Father Tim & Cynthia when they left their precious Mitford to go to Whitecap.What an adventure they had.I enjoyed every sentence of this book.Arethere really people like Father Tim and Cynthia in this world?How I wishI could be their friend and neighbor.I gleaned scriptural knowledge andhuman knowledge from all of Jan's Mitford books.The ending of"A NewSong" has me baffled indeed.Who is the man in the pearly whiteshirt?Could it be an angel perhaps?I will sit and sleep restlesslywaiting for Jan's next book.



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Review of A Land to Call Home (Red River of the North #3) (Paperback)

Book 3 in Red River of the North opens with Penny writing to the absent Hjelmer who has fled the area to avoid a "shotgun wedding" trick.Even though he is young and immature, he is a hard worker with an eye for the future and inside information on the plans of the railroad. Kaaren delivers twins, nearly dying.One twin is not healthy and Lars cannot accept his deaf daughter.School is in full swing in the prairie schoolhouse, with Kaaren as teacher.

Ingeborg and Haaken travel a far distance by train to escort home the seriously injured younger sister of Kaaren.Solveig is a bitter, disappointed young woman who was on her way to join her sister, but whose future is crushed in a train wreck.Face scarred and barely walking, she goes home with Ingeborg and Haaken. Olaf, Kaaren's long lost uncle, mysteriously turns up after a long absence and his many talents make him useful and loved.

Penny has finally decided to travel to Fargo for work and further schooling.The farms continue to progress - a large wooden barn now graces the homestead of Ingeborg who gives birth to another baby, Haaken's first biological child. Metiz continues to weave in and out of the lives of the pioneer families.Her grandson, Baptiste, stays with his friend Thorliff to go to school and help with the farm work.

As much as she balks, Ingeborg gives up her plowing and hunting after teaching young Thorliff to take her place. As usual, tragedy does not pass over them without leaving scars.A tragic fire, blizzards and failing farms cause loss of life and dreams.Agnes give birth to a stillborn daugher.She harbors intensive anger toward Hjelmer for hurting her dear niece, Penny.

The railroad is coming and the time for proving up their land arrives.Both the Bjorkland widows are remarried with families.Extra people share both homes now.A large sack house stores their grain for direct loading on the train.

The book ends with their town becoming a water stop for the railroad, a real town with a real name, Blessing. In spite of the author's confusion with family relationships and forgetting Kaaren's married name, book 3 still deserves 4 stars.

Product Description
Taming the land came at great price. Will their love survive the loss?It has required long, difficult years to tame the virgin prairie of Dakota Territory, but in spite of heartache and back-breaking labor, the hardy immigrants recognize that God has been with them every step. What was merely a dream is now beginning to take shape. And so they face the challenge of proving up their homesteads and building an official town for their growing community.Hjelmer travels west to work on the railroad, but after sending only one letter to Penny, who has agreed to wait for him, he is not heard from again. As the months pass, Penny is pursued by other eligible suitors, and her love for Hjelmer is sorely tried. Will he return to keep his promise?First the land, then a natural disaster nearly devastates them. What will it take to make their dreams a reality?



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Review of Beaming Sonny Home (Paperback)

"Beaming Sonny Home" is the first novel I have read by Cathie Pelletier, and I intend to read her entire body of work.
What a storyteller! She is brilliant, absolutely brilliant. This is some of the best writing I've read in my entire life.It is easy to follow, very descriptive about it's characters and everything that evolves around them. She knows how to make a story funny and touching at the same time. Also, this story kept me glued.It was hard to put down as I was having such a good time reading it.
It's about a family, well, mostly it's about, Mattie Gifford, the mother of "Sonny", of the title.To grab the attention of his estranged wife, Sonny kidnaps two women and a dog and holds them hostage in a trailer park. Sonny isn't your usual criminal.He seems like a happy go lucky guy, that just can't get it together. Now he has gone and lost it, really lost it. Although, you can't help but love this character.
Mattie also has three adult daughters that drive her crazy.Even though she doesn't seem to have the same close bond with her daughters as she does with her criminal son, Sonny, you see that there is love in this family unit.Extended family, and Mattie's dead husband, Lester are more characters that come bounding from the story.
This is a writer who knows how to write great characters with strength and integrity.There are so many tender momments sprinkled throughout the story that bring laughter to the lips and tears to the eyes.
The story starts when the crime happens, and follows the family throughout the next few days.It is a great story about relationships and how they evolve when tragedy strikes.Mattie is a character that I can sympathize with, and I admire for the changes she goes through in the story's outcome.
The book reminded me a bit of "Divine Sisters of the Ya Ya", in the sense of the family relationships and the humour. Although, I think that Pelletier is the better writer.She is simply divine, and so is this story.
I am highly recommending this one, it's a good one!



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