Excerpt from the back cover:
Her skin tingled in the late spring's early morning chill. She could practically taste adventure waiting, urgent as an icicle against her tongue.
Lilly Gray Corbett loves living on Troublesome Creek, but she would much rather play with her best friend than watch her little brother and the twins. Her mama, Copper, is often gone helping to birth babies, and Lilly has to stay home and help. When Aunt Alice sends a note inviting her to visit in the city, Lilly is excited to go. Copper isn't quite ready to let her young daughter travel all the way to Lexington by herself, but she reluctantly agrees to let Lilly go. When Copper and her husband John hear news that Lilly's train crashed, they rush to find out if their daughter is injured or even alive.
My thoughts:
Before I begin, I have to admit, I love believable historical fiction. Still House Pond was a book that met my "it could have actually happened criteria". So many writers embellish the facts to create an only in the movies ending. When the author fails my credibility factor, I come away feeling like I have wasted my time with such fantasy. This book contain lovable, flawed characters who were transformed, created suspense, and kept me reading into the night. I didn't put it down. Jan Watson's writing clearly captures the readers attention, uses a variety of descriptions, and leaves the reader feeling like she has experienced rural Kentucky in 1896.
The three main characters were Copper, the local mid-wife, Lilly, her 11 year-old daughter, and Copper's hired girl, Manda. The development of these characters was slow moving as the story jumped between each person. I enjoy this style of writing, it reminded me of one of my all time favorites: "The Scarlet Thread" by Francine Rivers. There was only one unresolved part of the book that I noticed.
This was my first time reading Jan Watson. Still House Pond can stand alone, despite being the second in a series. It contains believable faith, no offensive sexual content, and is well written. I hope her other books are similar. I now plan on reading her other works, Sweetwater Run and the Troublesome Creek series.
Still House Pond is 376 pages and published by Tyndale.
I received this book from Tyndale Press in exchange for an honest review of this book.
I welcome reader comments with open arms. I also understand if you aren't the commenting or hugging type of person, you can drop me an email at accidentallyhomeschooling@gmail.com.
2 comments:
Thanks for the review. It sounds like a book I would enjoy.
Hopefully we can actually catch up this Thursday!
In the meantime, I awarded you with Bloggy Awards. You and Lizzie get two, 'cause you're doubly special.
http://www.homeschoolreviewsandmore.com/2010/08/sunshiny-beautiful-blog-awards.html
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