Chloe McCorkle doesn’t want to go to summer camp but has no choice. Her parents are going on a cruise and Chloe needs someplace to go. Chloe just wants to make enough money during the summer to buy a new bike to ride to school in the fall. She dreams up a scheme contingent on taking the baking course at camp.
She immediately meets a new friend, Pogo, and is happy to see a couple of school friends at camp. One of them is her secret crush.
Victoria, one of the girls in Chloe’s cabin, is constantly getting her in trouble.
Add to the that a very troublesome goat and you’ve got the makings for a fun novel geared to children 9 – 13.
Definitely recommend this chapter book for children!
This is the story of Joseph just before his release from prison—for a crime he didn’t commit—and up through the famine.
It’s a beautifully written story told in multiple viewpoints. The author’s attention to historical detail and tradition amazed me. I’ve read the Biblical account that is the background for this story many times and the historical and cultural insights brought me a whole new perspective.
Those familiar sections of Joseph’s Biblical story were the parts that gripped me most in this novel. Characters are well-developed and believably true to the times. The setting is a turbulent period in history that moves quickly. Well done!
By 1798, Gwen Morgan has been an indentured servant for two years, with five more years until she earns her freedom. She’s a maid to a businessman’s spoiled daughter, who becomes pregnant with a ship captain’s child while courting a rich aristocrat.
Gwen had been sold to a different family than her sister when the orphans arrived in America. Gwen’s greatest desire is to find her sister.
Thomas and Betsy Baldwin can’t abide in New Bern any longer. Laws now prevent the Quakers from buying slaves to grant their freedom. They make preparations to go western territory around the Ohio River where slavery is prohibited.
When Gwen is given a chance for freedom in exchange for an oath, she jumps at the chance. Maybe she can finally find her sister. She doesn’t plan on falling in love with Micah.
But the oath comes with high price when an enemy from the past threatens her new life.
My attention was riveted from the first chapter. Likeable characters deal with believable problems from the beginning. The mother and her baby tugged at my heart. The grandparents who quickly accept them both into their home made me love them.
I enjoyed this poignant story that held many surprising twists. Not everything was completely resolved in this first book in the series, leaving me to wonder what happens in the next book. The ending is both exciting and satisfying.
Faith is a strong component in this story. The author blends that easily a part of the plot. This book was a page-turner for me!
Recommended for readers of inspirational historical romances!
I was given a copy of the book by the author. A positive review was not required. The opinions expressed are my own.
My young grandchildren love for us to tell them knock-knock jokes. We remembered a few but then drew a blank.
So when I found this delightful joke book geared to children 6 – 9, I snatched it up. The children have enjoyed it as much as I’d hoped. In fact, the seven-year-old reads them to us!
Current Day—Ginny discovers a hidden compartment in an old desk soon after her marriage to Scott. The ancient typewriter and some manuscripts inside snagged my interest immediately.
In 1946—A WWII soldier boards in the boarding house where Betsy lives and works. She likes Dale but his family owns a farm. No way is she returning to the farm life that was her childhood. Yet she secretly is attracted to him.
There’s also a Civil War element to this story. That’s not part of the time slip element yet is still a thread in the story.
I enjoyed this time slip story. The author weaves a multi-layered tale that binds the present to the past through a beautiful historic home. Each era holds its own tragedy. Realistic, lovable characters snagged my interest from the first chapter and held on.
Recommended for readers of historical romance, time slip, and nostalgia.
Kenna McCrea has been helping her pa raise her siblings since she was twelve. Her family runs a diner in San Antonio and her pa has earned the reputation of being the best cook in the area. Kenna feels like an old maid at twenty and figures it’ll stay that way because her youngest sister is ten.
The War Between the States ended two years ago. Benjamin Warley wants to forget his part in it for circumstances had driven the South Carolinian to fight for both sides. He’s been pretty good at failing…he’s ready to succeed. He’s working on a business venture to move cattle from Texas to Abilene, Kansas, when he meets Kenna, who immediately captures his attention.
The adventure they all make on what was to become the Chisholm Trail takes a dangerous toll on all of them.
The story pulled me in from the first page. Attitudes of the time are portrayed as part of the novel, showing prejudices and how those change.
Realistic characters that readers will care about face danger and hardship. The long, arduous journey they all take together binds them together. Many twists and turns in the story kept me turning pages!
Thomas beautifully portrays how everyone continued to struggle even after the Civil War ended.
A beautifully written fast-paced adventure. Well-done!
Recommended for readers of westerns and historical romance!
I was given a copy of the book by the author. A positive review was not required. The opinions are my own.
Addi Bell has plenty of teaching experience when she arrives for a summer of caring for young children at the Thousand Island House. She plans adventures and learning experiences to enthrall the children because she has no intention of wasting those days.
Liam Donovan, the resort’s manager and her boss, doesn’t know what to make of the Addi’s child-like enthusiasm for life. The last nanny had never planned anything beyond playtime for her charges—Addi insists upon being allowed to teach them. Before long, the Scottish manager finds himself falling in love with her.
Addi’s heart goes out to Jimmy, the only son of the stern widower, Lieutenant Worthington.
The lonely little boy tugged at my heart immediately. I loved Addi’s enthusiasm for the children. Liam’s Scottish sayings made me smile. I was quickly drawn into the story by concern for Addi, who is alone in the world.
The author weaves history of the island into her story, which I appreciate.
A delightful read for lovers of historical romances!
This book was part of my research for A Not So Peaceful Journey, Book 3 in my “Second Chances” series. My characters take a train journey from Ohio to Oakland, California, in 1884. On the last leg of their journey, they rode in Palace cars.
The passenger cars were less luxurious than Palace cars.
This book has a lot of sketches to explain the design of different passenger cars. Specific cars and the railroad in which they were used make up a large part of this book—useful information if you are looking for specific details.
One thing I love about this book is the many photos, early ads, and sketches of old cars. The descriptions included with them were quite helpful.
Recommended for readers who want to learn more about early train travel.
