Julia's Hope

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Coming soon

This is the first of two wonderful books from a new and rising author, Leisha Kelly. The characters are strong, real, and empathic and the story will have you turning page after page as you wonder how in the world this family will ever make ends meet as they travel the country side looking for a place to call home during the difficult depression years.

When they stumble upon the empty homestead and make it their home, you rejoice with them and wonder at how they make a meal out of weeds from the back yard. When they meet sweet old Emma, you fall in love with this wonderfully generous woman as well and learn the lessons she sets about teaching Julia as well. She evokes the sense of generosity and love for others that we all yearn to feel. I loved the fact of people helping others and sharing what they have. It smacked of old-time neighbourliness. I even liked some of the "evil" characters like the spinster lady from church who was certain that Julia and her husband, Samuel, we set to pilch the farm from dear old Emma. The fact that Julia and Samuel do the honorable thing and move Emma out to the farm to live with them where she has all her old memories of life with her husband and her son is heart warming.

This whole story is heart warming and a definite must read for all you who love a really great story! I can't wait to read the sequel and lucky for me, I have it right here!

Emma's Gift

by Leisha Kelly

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Emma's Gift is the sequel to Julia's Hope which I read first. Both books were startlingly vivid for me and images linger in my mind even though I've read two more books since finishing Emma's Gift and I read so many books I often forget the details quickly. The fact that the stories are lingering in my mind, images to be revisited and thought about, is a significant testimony to the great story line and characters in this book!

The story revolves are Julia and Samuel (mostly Julia) as they reach out to their neighbours who are struggling to accept and deal with the death of their wife and mother, Wilametta. Left with 10 children of varying ages, the father, George, is unable to deal with the grief or his children. Julia and Samuel then step in to take in the children with only days to spare before Christmas. In a year, that has been terribly lean as it is, they must find a way to share Christmas with these children who have never known plenty and have just lost their precious mother. Because their father is unable to cope, it seems as if they have lost both parents. While dealing with this one loss, they are also having to deal with the loss of another dear one. Now they are left wondering if they will lose all that they have, home and friends, with the deciding of estates and land. Julia's hope begins to waver as she wonders how one family can bear so much.

The story is set during The Depression when families are having to resort to some pretty drastic means to support and feed themselves. This time period has often held a special appeal to me as I wonder what would happen to my own family if we were ever in a similar situation. So, besides being incredibly possible and hence, believable, the characters are strong and empathic. Having felt like I knew the family personally from the first novel, I was amazed at their strength and resilience through some pretty trying circumstances. They showed generosity and compassion to a family when they had very little themselves.

The story is just so sad that it lingers in my mind. Seeing the children try to pull together and mourn the passing of their mother is heart rending. Never mind the paralyzing sadness of the father... However, there is hope in the end and it is not a fairy tale happily-ever-after ending, but one that will leave you feeling satisfied. I guarantee that you will be left with a wonderful feeling of love and neighborliness after reading this awesome story!

Till Morning is NIgh

Till Morning is Nigh appears to be the latest in this saga of stories by Leisha Kelly and it is no less heart wrenching than the first. There appears to be several books in between that I have not had the pleasure of reading yet. They are: Katie's Dream, Rorey's Secret, and Rachel's Prayer.

Following in the path that Leisha Kelly has begun, this novel details the lives of a large family of 10 who have lost their mother at Christmas time a year ago. They are trying to survive on their own with a father who has all but abandoned them because of his own sorrow. At the helm of this family is 16 year old Lisbeth who is trying to meet the needs of her 8 younger siblings. But it is the Julia Wortham and her husband who take in this hapless family with their own meager supplies during the cold Christmas season. Will Julia be able to meet the needs of this hurting family as well as her own family during the bleak winter with Christmas fast approaching? Will she be able to turn their thoughts to Christmas and bring a little joy into their lives? You will definitely want to read the latest to find out!

For information on author Leisha Kelly click here.