Review: "Undaunted Hope" by Jody Hedlund

In Undaunted Hope, Tessa must face many challenges as a new teacher in Eagle Harbor, a mining town in northern Michigan, in 1871. Classified as historical fiction, there's a wonderful author's note at the end of the book speaking to what parts were historical. Tessa and the school house she works at are modeled off a school teacher's diary from the time period.

The antagonist, Percival Updegraff, is the chief mine clerk who takes advantage of his position of power to rule the town, limiting supplies, punishing protesters with longer work hours, and even raping the miners' wives. He is also unfortunately based off a real person.

Though most people in the town are afraid to speak against Updegraff, Tessa and the two lighthouse keepers are employed by the state, not the mine, and therefore find themselves locked in a constant battle trying to end Updegraff's tyrannical reign.

The lighthouse keepers, brothers Michael and Alex Bjorklund, have their own little battle going on as well, as they've both taken a fancy to Tessa. But with Updegraff's strict rules that married women can't teach, Tessa struggles with how to maintain a pure reputation and keep her distance from the two men.

Haunted by her past growing up in a lighthouse, Tessa's also convinced that she'll have nothing to do with one ever again - not after she saw the dangers firsthand.

Undaunted Hope is, as the title suggests, a story of hope and personal growth. Tessa's character is determined to live a Godly life and be a blessing to those in her new community. She goes out of her way to hold after school spelling classes to prepare for a spelling bee, and even an evening class for adults, all without extra compensation. The story definitely has a dark side with death, rape, and hints of murder, but through it all the characters place their faith in God and trust in him. This novel is the third book in the Beacons of Hope series, but the first one I've read, which didn't hurt my enjoyment of the book.

It was a very fast and captivating read, and the historical detail was exceptionally well-done. As I said, the author's note at the end did a fabulous job of putting the entire story in perspective.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Bethany House for this review.  The opinion in this review is unbiased and reflects my honest judgment of the product.

Review: "Caught in the Middle" by Regina Jennings

"If he's foolish enough to cross us, then our election strategy will have to be reevaluated.  What's the point of electing him if he's uncooperative?" (189)

Caught in the Middle by Regina Jennings is a historical Christian fiction story about Nick Lovelace, a railroad and government man, and his unlikely encounter with an old acquaintance, Anne Tillerton.  The story begins with both Nick and Anne standing up to some train robbers, after which their paths continue to cross and a dynamic relationship forms between them.

At the beginning of the story, Anne is very much a type-character: she rebels against societal norms for women and that seems to be the only character trait she has.  She dresses like a man, hunts buffalo, and refuses to accept any attention from a man.

Through a series of unfortunate events, Anne becomes the caretaker for a young boy, Sammy.  Again, the focus is mostly on the fact that single parents do not fit in to society, regardless of the circumstances.  Stereotypically fitting with her refusal to don a dress as is considered proper for a lady, she is also unsure of how to care for a child, seeming to completely lack maternal instinct.

At the story progresses, the character becomes more fully developed and begins to make realistic decisions instead of just going with whatever the obvious rebellious action would be.

Part of being accepted into the 1883 Garber Texas society includes going to church.  Anne is not a woman of faith at the beginning of the novel and her Christian development through the book seems a little strained.  When she decides to become the official mother to Sammy, she decides that "she would start small, ease into this new role.  Instead of ridiculing the sermons on Sunday, she would give he pastor a chance.  Praying would be a good start, and she could learn the language of faith that everyone around her spoke so fluently.  If it paid off, then maybe she'd trust God with a little more" (153).  Her thought process in connecting becoming a mother to becoming a Christian was not clear.

However, Nick, the pious and God-fearing man, had more realistic faith dilemmas.  No Christian character can know or understand everything, just as no Christian can, which is why Nick's faith experiences were more relateable.  Nick struggled with God's role in his life: "Success always involved risk, and God had faithfully smiled on his endeavors.  And would continue to do so.  He had to, right?  As long as Nicholas followed the rules and obeyed the Bible, his fortunes would continue to rise, his domain would continue to expand.  Wasn't that the bargain?" (194).

The plot is captivating, although it was a bit slow to start even with a train robbery in the second chapter.  Through the rest of the book Anne and Nick overcome many different types of challenges: fitting into society, raising a child, dealing with corrupt political schemes...Anne also has to overcome a troubling past, as we learn more and more captivating details.

My mother who enjoys Christian historical fiction often enjoyed this book, though she too, found some of the Christian conversations to be forced or unrealistic.  I would still recommend Caught in the Middle as a heart-wrenching struggle between doing what is right and doing what you want.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Bethany House for this review.  The opinion in this review is unbiased and reflects my honest judgment of the product.