Suggested Reading

To me, a book is good when I’m still thinking about it for days after I read the final sentence. Last week I mentioned some of the books in my current stack of “waiting to be read.” I’ve finished two of them, The Journal of Callie Wade and Letters to Callie (Jack Wade’s Story). And they were good.

The first of these is a novel told in the form of a young woman’s journal entries as she and her family travel by wagon train from Missouri to California. Her father has been told the drier climate may be the only way to save his youngest daughter, Rose, from the lung disease (TB) that is killing her. Along the way, they encounter the typical sights and tragedies to be expected from such a journey—some of which hit too close to home and threaten the future happiness of Callie and the big Irishman who loves her.

In the second book, Callie’s brother Jack has struck out on his own unable to deal with the recent losses he has suffered. He’s living a wild life, keeping himself from getting too involved, coming too close to caring for others. He’s a gambler and a good one. When circumstances land him in Virginia City in the Montana Territory, his self-prescribed distance hits a couple of roadblocks. Jack’s journey is one of hardship, grief, joy and self-inflicted pain. You want to smack him upside the head one moment and hug him the next. 

Though each book has some language and other issues that would have kept it from being published in the Christian market, the author, Dawn Miller has woven a strong faith thread throughout her stories. She used the love chapter (1 Corinthians 13) and love never fails as her theme. In looking up additional titles by this author, I noticed she published two more Callie books with the Christian publisher Thomas Nelson. For anyone interested, these books are still available on Amazon.

Now, it’s on to the next book in the pile. Happy reading.

I have received no compensation for this post and have no material connection  with any product(s) mentioned. Embedded links are strictly for the convenience of my readers.