Monday, July 1, 2013

Review ~ A Hope Undaunted by Julie Lessman

Well, here it is, my first review. Hopefully I can do this book justice while keeping your interest as well. Originally, I had a list of books I wanted to review first, ones that I had won in various contests. This book was not on that list, but after staying up til 5 am two nights in a row just so I could finish it, I decided to put it at the top of my list. :)



Background: A Hope Undaunted by Julie Lessman is the first book in the Winds of Change series. This is her second series following the wonderful O'Connor family of Boston, MA. The first series, The Daughters of Boston tells the stories the three oldest O'Connor sisters - Faith, Charity, and Elizabeth, while the Winds of Change tells the stories of the youngest daughter Katie, and the two sons, Sean and Steven. Each book is focused on the love story of one sibling, with the rest of the family in the background. For those who have read the first series, don't worry, you still get to keep up with the older siblings and their families. For those that haven't, you won't get lost. Ms. Lessman does a fantastic job of weaving a story that draws you in and makes you care about each character in the book.

Synopsis: This particular story is about Katie and her former nemesis Luke McGee. It's the late 1920's and Katie has everything she could want, a well to do loving family, a rich boyfriend wrapped around her finger, and plans to go to Law School to fight for women's rights. She has no real use for God, or controlling men. She wants to live life her way, and save the world doing so. And then, it all comes crashing down. Suddenly, Katie finds herself barred from seeing her boyfriend Jack, or any of her old friends for that matter, and forced to volunteer at the Boston Children's Association finding homes for orphans and children abandoned by their parents. Not only that, but she is forced to work with her childhood nemesis, Luke McGee, who is no longer the scrawny "street rat" she remembers him being. Meanwhile, Faith and Collin run into some trouble when his past comes knocking, as do Mother(Marcy) and Father(Patrick) as they deal with Katie and Steven's rebellion, and other surprises that test their marriage to its limits.

This story helped me fall in love with the O'Conner family, and made me go back and read the first series (reviews coming I hope!). Ms. Lessman's writing style pulls you in and never lets go! I felt like I was in the late 1920's right along with this family. I felt their joy and their pain. Watching Katie make mistakes and then learn from them made me feel like I was right there with her. I felt her pain and tears, along with those of the other characters.

A few things I really loved: the focus on the orphans and caring for them. I have a heart for these kids, and it was encouraging reading about Gabe finding a home, and the impact that had on the characters. It was also interesting to learn more about how orphans were dealt with during that time. I never really knew about orphan trains, or anything like that. I also loved that we got to catch up with the rest of the family, and see how they were doing. I loved how real the situations and characters were. They had faults and messed up a lot. They were passionate and stupid at times, they made mistakes, but eventually learned from them with God's help. Finally, I loved the spiritual and practical applications this book gives.

A Few things I didn't like so muchI cannot think of anything I did not like about this book, other than it ended. :) Ms. Lessman is a little detailed at times in some of the more romantic situations, which might bother some readers (very passionate kisses), but she stays far away from the line, and her situations are quite true to life, so take that as you will. I personally was not bothered by it, but wanted to give a warning for those that are. :)

ApplicationFirst, the main theme seemed to be to surrender everything to Christ, so that he can give us his best. The biggest enemy of God's best is not doing the wrong thing, but settling for what seems good. God wants his best for us, and if we allow him to lead and guide us, he will give it! (This theme pops up in her other books as well). Second, I loved the focus on the importance of marriage and trust. Faith and Collin go through a trial when his past creeps up on them. As a wife who just celebrated her third anniversary, I am learning the importance of trust in a marriage, and how both spouses should never forget that after God, our marriage is the most important thing in our lives. Marcy and Patrick are reminded of that as well when they face several difficult situations and the mistakes they made raising their children. This book convicted me in places, and reminded me of the importance of marriage, my relationship with Christ, and that choices I make can and sometimes do affect my future relationships.

Overall, fantastic read! I highly recommend this book, and the rest of both series. Hopefully, I'll finish them soon, and perhaps post a review as well. If you have any tips on how to write a better review, please let me know! This is my first shot, and I wasn't sure what to write.

God bless and Happy Reading!

Sarah

5 comments:

  1. Sarah, welcome to the world of reviewing! I enjoyed reading your review, and I liked seeing how you applied the book to your life. Since you asked for suggestions, here are a couple: I'd highly recommend including a picture of the book. I think pictures always make blog posts more interesting. I'd also suggest using bold text to break up your review into sections. A visual change can help keep your reader from getting bogged down in all the similar-looking text. For an idea of what I mean, here's a link to one of my recent reviews: http://christianchicksthoughts.blogspot.com/2013/06/red-dawn-rising-by-sue-duffy.html And don't be afraid to link back to your older reviews. Any time I review a book by an author whose other books I've reviewed, I link back to the older reviews ... it helps you get more page views :-) Happy reading and reviewing! I look forward to reading your future reviews!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Becky! I already did a few things you suggested...now to figure out how to get the book cover...luckily I'm married to a techie who can write a script or whatever to do all that for me! :D Thanks for the help and encouragement!

    Sarah

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nicely done Sarah. The cover picture is a good addition to the text.

    ReplyDelete
  4. SARAH, WOW, what an honor being your very first review!! Stellar job, my friend, and THANK YOU for taking the time to read my book and write such a lovely review!

    As far as book covers, you can usually pull them from the author's website or even from Google images by just typing in the book name.

    Thanks again and HAPPY REVIEWING!!

    Hugs,
    Julie

    ReplyDelete