Wonderland Creek By Lynn Austin Book Review

/ / Wonderland Creek / /

/ / A Novel By Lynn Austin / /

{Review By Madi}

Title: Wonderland Creek

Author: Lynn Austin

Source: Review Book Provided By The Author

Number Of Pages: 391

ISBN: 978-0-7642-0498-2

Publisher: Bethany House

Year Of Publication: 2011

My Rating: Five Out Of Five Stars

 

 

/ / Book Description / /

Lynn Austin Will Delight Readers with Her Winsome Heroine

Alice Grace Ripley lives in a dream world, her nose stuck in a book. But the happily-ever-after life she's planned on suddenly falls apart when her boyfriend, Gordon, breaks up with her, accusing her of living in a world of fiction instead of the real world. Then to top it off, Alice loses her beloved job at the library because of cutbacks due to the Great Depression.

Fleeing small-town gossip, Alice heads to the mountains of eastern Kentucky to deliver five boxes of donated books to a library in the tiny coal-mining village of Acorn. Dropped off by her relatives, Alice volunteers to stay for two weeks to help the librarian, Leslie McDougal.

But the librarian turns out to be far different than she anticipated--not to mention the four lady librarians who travel to the remote homes to deliver the much-desired books. When Alice is trapped in Acorn against her will, she soon finds that real-life adventure and mystery--and especially romance--are far better than her humble dreams could have imagined.

 

 

/ / Book Review / /

I love this book. I'm so grateful to have it on my personal bookshelf so that I can go back and re-read it as often as I like. One of the best things about this novel is the wonderfully created characters, so I have made a list of a few of the main characters that appear throughout the story and their personality traits.

 

Alice Grace Ripley-

Alice is a ministers daughter that always has her nose in a book. Her family and friends are completely convinced that she lives in a non-existent dreamland, and they are right. Her imagination is keen, and her spunk knows no bounds (except Miss Lillie, but we'll get to that later). Alice is a librarian in her hometown that she considers small, until she gets laid off due to the depression. Little did she know that by making a trip to Kentucky to deliver donated books to the rural town's library that she would discover what a small town really was like. She also never thought of herself as a high-maintenance city slicker, but to the mountain people of Kentucky, that's exactly what she is. Is it too much to ask for indoor plumbing?

 

Leslie "Mack" Larkin-

Mack was saddled with a woman's name at birth, but he hates it and goes by the nickname, "Mack". I don't know where the name came from, but it suits him. At first, Mack came across as an uncivilized grump, but when I dove further into the story, I came to the realization that he was actually a very intelligent and educated man. He was working on a book that got him into some trouble with the townsfolk, so he faked his own death to secure safety for himself and those close to him. He sure was glad that new little librarian came to take over his post at the library and help him see his plan to fruition.

 

Miss Lillie-

Miss Lillie has got to be my favorite character. Her personality reminds me of some of my family in Mississippi. Miss Lillie is a black 100 year old former slave woman that raised Mack. This feisty old woman has enough spunk for the whole state of Kentucky, and she isn't afraid to use it. She is quick to love, has impeccable judgment in people, and will do just about anything for someone that she loves. As a young girl she learned the art of medicine, and being the town healer has afforded her certain privileges. She knows secrets about the people of her small town that no one else does. She could blackmail the entire town into submission if she wanted to, but of course she's too nice for all that. She thinks that she frightens the new little sprite of a girl that has been helping her out since Mack "passed on", which is good. She needs her help, and she intends to keep it. She rather likes her though.

 

~

 

These characters made me fall in love with this story, and I haven't been so emotionally exhausted after reading a novel in a while. This isn't the first Lynn Austin book that I have read, and I hope that it  won't be the last. I love reading anything by Lynn Austin, and I'm always glad to be able to get my hands on one of her novels. Her writing style leaves readers wanting more, and whenever I finish one of her books I always feel like I have lost a dear friend. The plot for Wonderland Creek was very original and well written. Like any good story, it contained romance, action, danger, adventure, murder, undercover plans to right past wrongs, and just about anything else that you can think of. I loved how this book managed to entertain without being the least bit inappropriate, which can be hard to find nowadays. Of course, Bethany House Publishers has always been one of my favorite publishers to purchase books from for that very reason. Chances are that if Bethany House published it you'll have no problem with the whole "to read, or to shelve?" thing like you would with other publishers. Bethany House is a Christian publisher, and if I were to write a book that is where I would turn to. Anyways, I can't recommend this book enough to anyone. Please, stop what you're doing and go pick up a Lynn Austin title, preferably this one.

 

 

~Madi For The Literary Maidens