Books for Christian Girls: "No Ocean Too Wide" by Carrie Turansky

About this book:

“Between the years of 1869 to 1939 more than 100,000 poor British children were sent across the ocean to Canada with the promise of a better life. Those who took them in to work as farm laborers or household servants were told they were orphans–but was that the truth?
After the tragic loss of their father, the McAlister family is living at the edge of the poorhouse in London in 1908, leaving their mother to scrape by for her three younger children, while oldest daughter, Laura, works on a large estate more than an hour away. When Edna McAlister falls gravely ill and is hospitalized, twins Katie and Garth and eight-year-old Grace are forced into an orphans’ home before Laura is notified about her family’s unfortunate turn of events in London. With hundreds of British children sent on ships to Canada, whether truly orphans or not, Laura knows she must act quickly. But finding her siblings and taking care of her family may cost her everything.
Andrew Fraser, a wealthy young British lawyer and heir to the estate where Laura is in service, discovers that this common practice of finding new homes for penniless children might not be all that it seems. Together Laura and Andrew form an unlikely partnership. Will they arrive in time? Will their friendship blossom into something more?
Inspired by true events, this moving novel follows Laura as she seeks to reunite her family and her siblings who, in their darkest hours, must cling to the words from Isaiah: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God”.”

Series: Book #1 in the “McAlister Family” series.

Spiritual Content- Psalm 82:3-4 at the beginning; Scriptures are mentioned, memorized, quoted, & discussed; Many Prayers & Blessings over food; Church going; Witnessing; Many Talks about God & Jesus; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Laura doesn’t get why God would allow her family to go through hard times of He loves them; Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of prayers, praying, & answered prayers; Mentions of faiths; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, & other Christian books; Mentions of churches, church going, singing, & reverends; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; Mentions of sin & prejudice towards certain children thinking that sinning is in their blood; A few mentions of a cross necklace; A mention of Sunday school;

*Note: A couple mentions of calling others evil; A mention of idle hands being the devil’s workshop.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blasted’, a ‘blimey’, a ‘dumb’, and a ‘[don’t] care a fig’; Mentions of curses (said, not written); Being slapped, being shoved, & pain (barely-above-not-detailed); Being sick & passing out (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of attacks, injuries, & deaths; Mentions of fires, smoke, injuries/burns, & deaths (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of abuse, beatings, & punishments for children (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of stealing, thieves, & jail; Mentions of lying, lies, & liars; A few mentions of a young girl who tried to take her life; A few mentions of drinking; A few mentions of hunting; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of cigars & smoking; A couple mentions of gossip;

*Note: A mention of two infants passing away after birth.

Sexual Content- a fingers kiss and a semi-detailed kiss; Touches (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); A man gives Laura a suggestive smile & he tries to block her exit (she kicks him below the belt); Mentions of a man forcing himself on a young girl & that she’s now with child (no true details, but it’s said he did it more than once); Mentions of a man making suggestive comments towards Laura & cornering her (she said she escaped with a torn dress); Mentions of men with not-so honorable intentions; A couple mentions of reputations; A couple mentions of flirting; Some love, falling in love, & the emotions;

*Note: A mention of kicking a man below the belt.

-Laura McAlister, age 21

-Andrew Frasier, age 24
P.O.V. switches between them & Katie

Set in 1909
368 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Because of mentions of girls being forced or nearly forced upon, this book is probably not the best choice for younger girls.}

I didn’t know this was a series.

Seriously, HOW did I miss that?

I’ve been trying to compose myself to type these final thoughts for thirty minutes now. I completely do not want to take away from the fact that Miss Carrie Turansky is a fabulous writer and the Spiritual Content was completely wondering in this novel (like all of her prior books). I’m just a bit stunned at how everything happened in this new book. As much as I mention about not liking books that end with a wrapped-up-with-a-bow ending, I love books ending closed off. This is the mindset I went in with “No Ocean Too Wide”. I read this book in exactly two hours quickly with anxiety over everything that was happening—I did know that the children would be shipped off to Canada, thanks to the back-cover, but my heart was so into this story that I literally could not read fast enough. I thought this was a stand-alone, so my reaction to the end makes sense in hindsight.

This novel does discuss some abuse and horrible unjustness that children in this historical event had to face. It broke my heart again and again.

“No Ocean Too Wide” does end hopeful. Let me say that again: This book ends hopeful for the next book in the series. It just completely took me by surprise.

All right, ending aside now.

Katie was a dear and so many times I wanted to hug her and the other children. My heart breaks for those who went through this event and those going through similar situations now.

I loved that Laura was so dedicated to her family. Her faith was tested again and again throughout this story. She continued to pray and ask for guidance even when she wasn’t sure God would answer her prayers in the way that she wanted.

Andrew did feel a little too…one dimensional at times, but I think that was because we didn’t see his point of view as often as most romance books typically do. As for the romance, I do think it was a bit rushed/out of left field, but, again, I believe this was do to the fact that the plot largely was surrounding the point of Laura’s siblings.

So, all of that said, this novel discussed an important topic and showed great faith content. I truly am antsy for the next book in the series.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!