I really wanted to like this book. I probably would have liked it best after reading some of Janette Oke's books, such as When Calls The Heart. Those were much worse, at least in writing.
When I began the book, I was really confused as to who was who, and what they were doing. But I told myself that I'd just keep going, it would get better. The writing style was enjoyable, so that wasn't any reason there to put it down.
Christy begins like When Calls The Heart. A girl who sets out to teach school in the near-wilderness. However, Christy addresses some darker themes throughout it's story, and is not wholly a love story. My copy was talking about on the back about her heart being torn between "desire ... and love." So I spent about two-thirds of this book looking for romance, as it was what I expected. But it didn't show up until the last third or so, and totally changed the feel of the story, which I didn't care for.
I feel that it should have either been a hit-fic novel solely focused on the Christian messages, or the romance. I probably wouldn't have liked it at all if had only been a romance, but there you are. The writing was lovely, though just old enough to be outdated, but not old enough to have quite the classic taste that I like.
Christy Huddleston listens to a story, apparentely not a sermon, but told in church nevertheless. He tells the story of Alice Henderson, how she planted three schools on her own in the Great Smokies. Christy is captivated, and when she hears that they need teachers for those schools, she volenteers, despite her being nineteen, and having no experience teaching on her own.
When she arrives, many are surprised at her and her appearance. She's a city girl who's been raised in a well-off family, and here she is traveling out to Cutter's Gap, where one of the schools is located. Where shootings are frequent.
Of course, I perked my ears up at this and said, "Sounds exciting! Tell me more." The inhabitants of Cutter's Gap aren't exactly friendly, but they aren't all that hostile--at first. Several pranks are played on her when she begins teaching. Dangerous pranks, which could get someone seriously hurt.
I don't know if I missed something or what, but I certainly never figured out who played the pranks. This has been a disappointment for me, to say the least. Christy makes friends with the people: Alice Henderson, Fairlight Spencer, David Grantland, Dr. MacNeil, and many of her students.
Over time, throughout the story, Miss Alice's story is revealed. I won't say anything about it, other than it was truly heartbreaking. I didn't cry, but probably because I was too shocked to do so.
Most of the story's threads seem too open-ended--I'm not sure how most of them ended. The book would probably be better read in one sitting, but I don't have that sort of time right now. I won't say anything about the largest plot thread, but it was the most puzzling for me. It happened so slowly, and was interspersed with other plots, which was hard to read over the course of several days. However, that approch is much more realistic.
But the romance, oh, geez. There was nothing romantic about it. No love chemistry, no nothing. I couldn't see why she had to fall in love with anybody, to be honest. About a quarter of the way to the end, David Grantland, the local preacher, decides that he loves her, and needs her in his life, to keep him stable. His faith is really rocky, and it doesn't seem that he can answer anyone's questions about faith straight. He acknowledges that he believes in God, but he doesn't believe that everything in the Bible happened, which is a shock for Christy.
Dr. MacNeil is constantly challenging Christy's faith in God. Why does she believe what she believes? He constantly cuts her off because she falls back on what Miss Alice says to Christy. He wants her to think for herself, not to answer with what she's been taught by her parents and the pastors in her life. What she thinks about God. He's an atheist, and a learned man. His questions make Christy think. Those conversations were probably my favorite parts of the book. It made me think too, "What do I believe about God?"
Most of the characters from Cutter's Gap believe that God is a God of fear. Partly its due to their denomination of Christianity, and partly because of where they are, and what its like in the mountains, with little to sometimes no medical aid. It sounds like Dr. MacNeil also serves the other counties where Miss Alice has set up schools, but this is one of those I'm-not-so-sure-about-that moments which this novel often had for me. It was annoying, to say the least.
Rating: *** stars
Age range: Beginning at 13-14, with adult permission. I wouldn't give the books to a ten year old, that's for sure. But this is a book for all ages, Christians and non-Christians.
You can find more of my reviews on my Goodreads profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2017285-hannah
