by Kathleen Shoop
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Just released: June 23, 2015
Publisher: Oakglen Press
Genre: Historical, Women's Fiction
Paperback: 495 pages
Rating: 4
The Letter series:
The Last Letter
The Road Home
book 3 - tba
First sentence:
Katherine stood at her mother's coffin. The parlor was bursting with sweet pink roses, deep blue and blush-pink hydrangeas, and peonies.
Find your way home...
1891—Living separately for three years, fourteen-year-old twins, Katherine and Tommy Arthur, have done their best to make each boarding house feel like home. But unrest grows as they are driven to questionable actions just to survive. Meanwhile their desperate mother is confronted with breaking yet another promise to her children. Then a miracle descends. Hope rises on a cold, rainy night and changes everything. If Jeanie could just get word to Katherine and Tommy, she knows she can set their lives right again. Agitators, angels, and dangerous “saviors” illuminate the Arthurs’ unmatched determination and smarts.
1905—Though she tries to forget the awful years that hurt so much, the memories still haunt Katherine. Now, tearful mourners at her mother’s funeral force her to revisit a time in her life that both harmed and saved her in the most unexpected ways. Tommy grieves his mother’s passing as well. He too is thrust backward, compelled to rediscover the events in his life that shaped the man he has become. Will he commit to reconstructing his broken life? The Arthurs come to understand that forgiveness is the only way back to hope, the only way to find all that was good in the misfortune that transformed their lives forever.
My two-bits:
Got a dose of some prairie living and the hardships involved. Experienced life in a slower pace.
The story is told through the eyes of three characters which provides a good overview of the times which is late 1800's into the early 1900's. What struck me was how their strong family ties was such a source of strength and hope.
Loved how letters were emphasized in this story. I found it amazing how letters were such a strong form of communication back in the day. These days most snail mail consists of junk mail.
About the author:
* added to my COYER challenge/scavenger hunt (details)
* part of my Armchair Summer Travel details - check it out to enter Armchair Summer Travel Book Box Giveaway
* review copy courtesy of BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge 2015 (details). @booksparks #SRC2015
Destination: Meander through Des Moines, Iowa
