About this book:
“She's cared for her siblings as best she could . . . but is it enough?
Instead of the new life she and her family expected to forge out west, seventeen-year-old Angela is thrust into the role of caring for her three younger siblings after the death of their parents. With the help of her older brother, and trust in God, Angela is determined to raise the children as her mother would have wanted.
As the youngsters grow, the questions and challenges intensify. Angela feels trapped and overwhelmed. Surely no man will ever want a woman who comes with three children in tow. Is this the plan God has for her life? Will she ever find a way to balance her own dreams with the promises she made to her mama?”
Series: Does not seem to be connected to any other book by this author.
Spiritual Content- Scriptures are mentioned, quoted, & discussed; Many prayers (Angela usually starts them by saying “Oh, God…”); Church going (including Angela having difficulty focusing on the service one morning); A sermon at a funeral; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Talks about God, Jesus, witnessing, & God changing hearts; Many mentions of God, Jesus Christ, & trusting Him; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of prayers, praying, thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, services, a reverend, & sermons; Mentions of witnessing to others, faiths, & eternity; A few mentions of Heaven (including Angela wondering if her parents are able to see their family on earth & asking God to tell her parents something); A few mentions of being baptized; A couple mentions of a church’s Christmas pageant; A mention of someone in the Bible; A mention of being blessed; A mention of sin;
*Note: A man comments that he doesn’t care for church because he has known “too many hypocrites”, but Angela says he is not responsible for them and that they must answer to God for their own deeds; A mention of a man forbidding his new wife to attend church services.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘my word!’; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); A bit of eye rolling; Nearly fainting & Grief (for parents, barely-above-not-detailed); One of Angela’s siblings talks about finding their mother who had passed away (he thought she was sleeping, but someone tells him that she’s gone and not to cry; barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of deaths, sicknesses and a stroke, & grief (including Angela and her siblings for their parents, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of injuries; A few mentions of lies & lying; A couple mentions of a young girl who drowned (prior to the story); A couple mentions of eavesdropping; A mention of a child being teased at school by other children; A mention of a cat killing a little bird;
*Note: One of Angela’s sisters becomes defiant towards Angela’s mothering/authority, which makes Angela panic and try to talk to her about responsibilities; A young woman suggests for Angela to not talk to a handicapped girl because a young man might see, but Angela does anyway; A mention of a man being “crippled”.
Sexual Content- a fingers-to-lips touch, two fingers kisses, three forehead kisses, two cheek kisses, a not-detailed kiss, and a semi-detailed kiss; Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Warmth, Nearness (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Some flirting (which Angela later calls “youthful foolishness” and tries to keep from doing again, but does in a moment of annoyance at another girl’s attention on a young man); After a man tells her that she’ll be an old maid as no one will want to marry a woman with three others to care for, Angela cries; Mentions of girls trying to get the attention of boys and vice versa, crushes, blushes, & flirting; A couple mentions of kisses; A couple mentions of jealousy; Light love, falling in love, & the emotions;
*Note: A young girl thinks she’s dying, but Angela says it just means the girl is growing up and has a chat with her about it (implying the girl has started her period, but no details are given); Angela compares herself to another young woman’s appearance (including saying she’s not stunning like the other girl); A mention of a woman who is “full-figured”.
- Angela Peterson, age 17-19
Set in the Western Prairie time-period (late 1800s/early 1900s?)
228 pages
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
I was afraid that this book was going to be really sad, but while it had its sad moments and moments of grief, it was really sweet overall. Perhaps there was a touch of stress in a couple parts because of the love triangle. I didn’t like the…not quite red flags, perhaps orange flags one of the guys was giving, but I had full confidence that the right guy would win Angela’s heart because this is a Janette Oke book. 😉
I adored the strong faith content in this book—it reminded me that I really need to read and review more books by this author because they are often to sweet and faith-filled! The pace of this story on slower, so I took my time reading it despite it only being about 220 pages and it was a calm, relaxing book. Definitely a sweet one and I look forward to reading more books by Janette Oke this year!
See y’all on Friday with a new review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
