ANGEL SISTER by ANN H. GABHART

Kate Merritt is not the older sister, nor is she the younger sister. She is the middle sister who holds it all together. A family living in 1936 that is struggling financially through the depression and is emotionally being held together at the seams. Kate's father, Victor, is an alcoholic. Both her grandfathers are pastors and very set in their ways. Her mother, Nadine, is a loving mother, but she is missing something. The love of the husband who once embraced her and now embraces the bottle. The war and his past have become his enemy as they eat away at him through drink. He is struggling to find peace, but first he must find humility. This family is not wealthy, but even though they have very little in this world, they have heart. Kate seems to be a strength for her mother and a hope for her father as she is the example for her sisters.

One day as Kate is on her way to church to drop off some preserves for her grandfather she finds a little girl sitting on the church steps. Little Lorena Birdsong. A child who has been abandoned by her parents. Parents who love her, but cannot afford to care for her, so they placing all hope in the church. An angel perhaps. As Kate finds her, Lorena, knows this is an answer of God. This one little girl will bring a new hope, a new life and change they never saw coming. As Lorena was looking for an angel she didn't know that is exactly what God had in mind for this family.

Struggle is not over when, Lorena, is found. Some struggles are just beginning, but God has a purpose and plan through all. Blessings are about to erupt through each life that these pages hold. There are many twists and turns throughout the pages of this wonderful book. This is one that will take you back in time and allow your heart to grow in love and wonder through the lives of these characters. Characters that are real and heart warming. Those who struggle just as we still struggle today. This is a story of hope, forgiveness and restoration.

I loved this book. It was a precious read and one that I will pass on.

This book was a gift from Revell for it's review.

Ann H. Gabhart:
Living just thirty miles from a restored Shaker village in Kentucky, Ann H. Gabhart has walked the same paths that her characters might have walked in generations past. Her thorough research provides a convincing and colorful backdrop for her Shaker novels. Gabhart is the author of several bestselling novels, including The Outsider, The Believer, The Seeker, and Angel Sister.