Where We Belong by Kim Vogel Sawyer - A Book Review

Where We Belong is an Orphan Train novel, but the two children on whom the story focuses are not truly orphans. When their mom passed away during the younger sister's birth, their father was unable to care for them while trying to hang onto a job during the Great Depression. With their care home closing and an inability to reach their father, the girls were placed on the Orphan Train heading west. Where We Belong is the story of the girls' lives with the lady who adopted them as well as a young boy from the train, the oldest sister's struggle to get back to New York City where their father can find them, and a desperate father's search for his daughters. While the ending is easily predictable, readers will enjoy following the emotional journey of the girls and the people who love them. Vogel has done a wonderful job generating empathy, developing her characters, and painting vivid word pictures of times and places I have never personally seen, but can now readily visualize.

I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of Where We Belong from WaterBrook, an imprint of Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group, via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Hope's Enduring Echo by Kim Vogel Sawyer - A Book Review

  

Hope's Enduring Echo takes place in 1915 Colorado. Seventeen-year-old Jennie Ward had taken over her daddy's job of walking and examining the water pipeline that provided water to Cañon City after he fell and broke his leg when she was 15. Her father had slipped into depression after the fall and had never been able to return to his job. It was a heavily guarded secret as her family depended on the income and home that was provided by the Water Works Department. The first person to discover their secret was Leo Day, a young college student aspiring to become a paleontologist and to use that platform to prove the biblical creation story and his belief in young earth creationism. What better place to go on a dinosaur hunt than Colorado, the home of the Bone Wars from 1877 to 1892? Jennie had been without friends since moving to the pipeline. Leo seemed to be an answer to her prayer for a friend. And so began the summer of 1915. Readers will be moved by the many events that occur before that summer draws to a close. The author beautifully illustrates how God moves through prayer and through suffering when one allows oneself to have hope in the Lord and to place themselves and those they love in His care.

Kim Vogel Sawyer consistently writes sweet stories that address difficult themes. This story does not only address the controversial topic of creationism, but also mental illness. It addresses the first with a logically reasoned argument without being argumentative, and the second with great compassion. I highly recommend Hope's Enduring Echo, and all previous works by this author. I received a complimentary copy of this book from WaterBrook via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own. 

The Songbird of Hope Hill by Kim Vogel Sawyer - A Book Review

   

Set in 1895 Tulsey Texas, The Songbird of Hope Hill is a five star historical fiction novel that will rest in readers' hearts for long after the last page is read. It is a story of hope, healing, forgiveness, and restoration. It is also a story of living sacrificially, putting God and His kingdom first. Kim Vogel Sawyer has written characters who realize and demonstrate that we are all sinners for whom Christ died, and one sin is not any more or any less forgivable than another. Readers will also be encouraged to persist in prayers for the lost, relying on God's timing.

I highly recommend The Songbird of Hope Hill to those who enjoy historical fiction, to those who think they are beyond hope of redemption, and to those who have a passion for praying for the lost, and for those who just love a well-written, thought-provoking story. I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of this book from WaterBrook & Multnomah via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own.

The Tapestry of Grace by Kim Vogel Sawyer - A Book Review

  

Set in 1897, The Tapestry of Grace is a multi-themed story following the lives of three Mennonite Church families. Augusta Dyck, is a widow with an eleven-year old daughter. She works as a teacher for the youngest grades in Alexandertol's school. Konrad Rempel is a widower with eight-year-old twin boys. Looking after them during the school harvest-time break while working in his blacksmith shop poses quite a challenge. Martina and Gerhard Krahn's marriage is in trouble, at least until Martina comes up with a plan that will impact the lives of each of these families. Their stories demonstrate the great importance of clear, honest communication, the importance of living in community, and that God can and often does use situations we may view as negative to bring good into someone's life. Kim Vogel Sawyer has developed characters in whom readers quickly become invested. She places them in realistic situations that bring about moral dilemmas. Readers will feel the tension created as characters wrestle with decisions which will be far reaching.

I highly recommend The Tapestry of Grace, and am grateful to have received a complimentary copy from WaterBrook via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own. 

Still My Forever by Kim Vogel Sawyer - A Book Review

  

Still My Forever is set in a Mennonite community in 1905 Falke, Kansas. Twenty-one year-old Ava Flaming lives with her parents, caring for her ailing mother, and nursing her own broken heart. Gil Baty, who was briefly Ava's fiance before moving to New York to pursue a career in music, has returned to Falke to nurse his wounded spirit. While I have no musical talent, and not a great amount of interest in music, I was enthralled by this story that is wrapped in music. I believe you will be as well.

Kim Vogel Sawyer has a way of making her characters matter to her readers, and in doing so she is also able to help her readers embrace her characters' life lessons, lessons easily applied to our daily lives, lessons that go down with a spoonful of sugar which is the enjoyment of a story well-told. I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of Still My Forever from WaterBrook via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own. 

Freedom's Song by Kim Vogel Sawyer - A Book Review

   

There are many types of freedom to be had, and many types of captors. In Freedom's Song Kim Vogel Sawyer reminds us of the freedom that matters most. This novel is filled with characters who will win readers' hearts. The tension of what if and when will keep readers turning pages, caring about the answers to those questions.

I loved this latest release by this author just as much as all of her other books that I have read, and highly recommend it. I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of Freedom's Song from WaterBrook via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own.

From This Moment by Kim Vogel Sawyer - A Book Review

   

Keep reading! If you think that this book gets off to a slow start, don't stop reading or you will miss a blessing. If difficult times have ever caused you to question God, this is the book for you. Jase, Lori, and Kenzie all have pasts that have impacted their faith; each find their way to Christ, to God, in different ways, and from different depths of despair, but He was there guiding them, healing them, forgiving them. This book has characters to love and lessons to learn. I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy from WaterBrook via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own.

The Librarian of Boone's Hollow by Kim Vogel Sawyer - A Book Review

 

If you loved The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek, you will love The Librarian of Boone's Hollow. The story is set first in Lexington and then in Boone's Hollow, Kentucky in 1936. The country is still struggling following the stock market crash of '29, and Addie Cowherd's world has just come crashing down. Suddenly she finds herself dismissed from school with no place to go, and only a part time job. Emmett Tharp, a recent graduate of the University of Kentucky, the first from Boone's Hollow, unable to find a job in the city, returns to his hometown hoping to find something there. Boone's hollow is not a place that easily accepts strangers or those who leave and come back different. The mountain people have a code of their own, and Addie and Emmett must find a way to become part of the community and part of the healing.

The themes of this book are very timely for today. The story is both encouraging and entertaining. It allows one to escape to another time and place, but not run away from the challenges of the here and now. I am grateful to have received a copy of The Librarian of Boone's Hollow from Waterbrook via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Unveiling the Past by Kim Vogel Sawyer - A Book Review

  

Kim Vogel Sawyer explores the impact of fatherlessness, both when the father is absent and when he is only present by location but not in spirit. She also explores the difference it makes for those who know God as Father. The theme of forgiveness is essential to the story of Unveiling the Past, without it one cannot easily move forward after the past has been unveiled. Sawyer treats these themes with the grace and sensitivity they deserve and require. Both her talent and her heart shine in this, her latest, novel.

Unveiling the Past is made up of three, well managed, story lines. In one Meghan DeFord Eagle is separated from Sean, her partner in the Arkansas Cold Case Investigations Department and her husband, in order to pursue a case of a missing father while also contemplating contacting her own father whom she has never met. In the second Sean is partnered with Tom Farber, a very difficult person to get along with who is fighting his own demons, to continue the case he and Meghan had begun in the search for the killer of eight-year-old twin boys. Finally Meghan's mother must come to terms with her own feelings about the man who abandoned her before Meghan was born now that his coming back into their lives is a very real possibility.

I am very grateful to have received a copy of this book from Multnomah in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to provide a positive review, and received no monetary compensation. #PRHpartner

Guide Me Home by Kim Vogel Sawyer - A Book Review

   

I was so happy to finally have the time and opportunity to read this highly anticipated book by Kim Vogel Sawyer. I have been a Kentuckian for forty years now, and live about forty-five minutes from Mammoth Cave, the setting of this story. Sawyer's well-researched story opens up the history of the cave area, telling of a culture very similar to that of the Smokey Mountain National Forest. Some claimed a Scottish heritage, and many had a deep faith that supported their love of family and their piece of God's creation.

Guide Me Home is a story of foolishness and wisdom, misguided guilt and forgiveness, loss and discovery, and determining what really matters in this life and the next. Readers will experience appreciation of Rebekah Hardin and exasperation with her sister, Cissy, admiration for Devlin Bale and frustration with Nick Ross. Most important is the prevailing message of the peace that comes with a personal relationship with Jesus.

I highly recommend Guide Me Home and all of Kim Vogel Sawyer's novels. Happy Reading!

A Silken Thread by Kim Vogel Sawyer - A Book Review

    

A Silken Thread may take place in 1895, but the characters struggle with many of the same things we do today. Kim Vogel Sawyer always gives her readers characters to identify with and much food for thought. Laurel Millard and Willie Sharp both desire a loving marriage and children, but they also both want to fulfill their responsibilities to their aging parents. Langdon Rochester is more concerned with his own desires, and is seemingly unconcerned with the hopes and needs of others, although he may be more driven by the desire for his father's approval than he realizes. Quincy Tate is easily offended and has a difficult time controlling his temper. Miss Eloise Warner is living in the shadow of thirty-year-old grief and loneliness. I imagine many of us can see ourselves or loved ones among these characters. We can certainly see elements of today's society.

One of the hardest parts of this story is that the reader can see pain and discouragement on the horizon. One of the wonderful things is knowing how this genre of historical romance generally works, and having an author who helps her characters navigate difficult circumstances in a way that maintains a grasp on her readers' interest.

I am grateful to have received a copy of A Silken Thread from Waterbrook via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to provide a positive review and received no monetary compensation.

Bringing Maggie Home by Kim Vogel Sawyer - A Book Review

     

     This story touched my heart in such a deep way that I felt compelled to message the author my gratitude when I was about three fourths of the way through the book. Reading this book felt like looking into a mirror from a variety of angles. While not everyone will have that experience, everyone will be touched by the depth of emotion evoked by Kim Vogel Sawyer through the lives of Hazel, Diane and Meghan DeFord.

     Hazel had lived most of her life with a childhood secret that continued to impact the next two generations of her family. The secret's revelation and the restoration that followed could only have been orchestrated by God. Bringing Maggie Home is an intensely emotional story of forgiveness, hope, and faith. Ultimately it is a story of peace, the peace that passes all understanding.

     I think NetGalley and WaterBrook for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was under no obligation to provide a positive review and received no monetary compensation.

My Heart Remembers by Kim Vogel Sawyer - A Book Review

     This is not a new book to the market, the copyright date on this book is 2008, but it is one I would highly recommend. I was unaware that 150,000 homeless, orphaned and abandoned children were sent from crowded cities in the Eastern states out West between the years of 1854 and 1929 on trains that became known as “orphan trains.” In the early 1900s the practice of child labor was called into question. Advocates for children sought to improve the education and safety of our country’s young ones. The plight of children is the focus of My Heart Remembers, a story of three fictional siblings who rode an orphan train only to be separated, and the children they longed to aid and protect.

    Recent immigrants, Maelle, Mattie, and Molly Gallagher lost their parents in a New York City tenement fire. Maelle took to heart her father’s admonishment to watch out for the wee ones, the wee siblings whom she lost track of after arriving in Missouri, and the wee ones she met along the way as she grew up and sought after her long lost siblings. Mattie never forgot his older sister’s promise to find him, but was unsure how that could happen as life kept him constantly on the move; how he longed for home and family. Molly appeared to live a life of luxury, doted on by loving parents, unaware that she was not their biological child, that is until she was orphaned yet again. Might she really have siblings somewhere, siblings that loved and wanted her? My Heart Remembers tells the story of how God used all things for good in the lives of these three siblings, and how they came to know Him as a trusted Father.

     I purchased this book a number of years ago, and it waited upon my bookshelf until May of 2017. God’s timing is always perfect in big and little things. I did not receive this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Rather I offer it to those who are looking for a truly touching read, filled with important life lessons.