I opened these pages and fell completely in love with this book! For a girl who loves to read, I could relate well with this character. She has her nose in a book all the time. I never leave the house without a book! It is her place of escape and she doesn't even realize it, until everything in her life starts changing. The boy she loves, her job as a librarian, her family and the Great Depression around her. I mean to tell you, this girl loves to read. She not only reads, but she loves taking away gems from each book. Life lessons. She is about to embark on a new journey no book can give her.
These characters come to life in these pages. I am a huge fan of Lynn Austin. Her writing style just gently pulls you in until you are there in Wonderland Creek with Alice. Alice goes from having everything she needs to a small town in Kentucky where need is prevalent.
What I love is that Alice has had a pretty easy life. She has really not had a want. She is kind of self absorbed and until she puts a book down and actually looks around she doesn't really realize all she has been missing. Let's put it this way. She doesn't really begin to understand who she is until she stops looking through a book.
Everything she has tried to escape are things that desperately needed her attention. Just like, Alice, I would rather grab a book and escape, but that doesn't always make life around us better. We can't hide our emotions in a book. We must allow the to escape so we can find freedom of peace and joy!
We see Alice blossom through these pages. Not by reading a book, but by helping and serving others. Alice never loses her passion for reading. It's part of who she is. Who God made her and He uses that love of reading to inspire her to do great things.
I loved this book. I found myself within these pages and that is exactly why Lynn Austin is a gifted writer.
This book was a gift from Bethany House for it's review.
Lynn Austin, a former teacher who now writes and speaks full time, has won seven Christy Awards for her historical fiction. One of those novels, Hidden Places, has also been made into a Hallmark Channel movie. Lynn and her husband have raised three children and make their home near Chicago, Illinois. Visit Lynn's Web site at http://www.lynnaustin.org/
