Constance

We read this book for book club in the month of November because one of the ladies in our group said she loves to read it every Thanksgiving. It was not what I expected. From the cover I thought it would be more of a young Laura Ingalls Wilder tale but a reviewer on the back cover described it as a historical romance. I think it is somewhere in the middle. It covers the span of six years and is predominately not a romance. Although she does kiss more boys than I thought people of that era did;)

What I really liked about the book was how much it made me think about what it would have been like to live there (and how utterly hopeless I would have felt at times). I also learned a lot of history and I love that in a book! What I didn't always like was Constance. I felt like she teetered between being a silly girl and a strong woman. Even in the last two entries she was saying silly things and I was hoping she would grow out of it. However it wasn't bad enough to be distracting, I just couldn't always root for her.

Over all I would say for sure read this book at least once. It is an easy book and you will learn a lot. I loved her step-mom and her dad. They were both great characters for different reasons. Here are some quotes I liked from the book:

   "...there are many times when a woman needs someone to talk to....there are other times when a woman has thoughts she cannot share with anyone, and yet she must needs rid herself of them, if only to see them more clearly."  (p.16)

"Believe me, Con, my belly and my backbone have become close friends." (p. 102)

"Perhaps 'home' can be where one comes from, as well as where one lives." (p.112) So true!

The love discussion on page 164 and the WillofGod discussion on page 176 (I am too tired to type the entire paragraph of each. Sorry.)

I hope you read it and I hope you enjoy it.