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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A quick read. Short and sweet.
This is probably the fifth or sixth time I’ve read this book, and I will give it five stars for eternity. The whole series, to be honest.
I was raised on reading and watching Little House on the Prairie, so I was born for homestead, slow living. The simple, heartfelt faith, the loveable characters, the little lessons and morals, and the charming setting and humor are so wholesome and homelike. A little piece of my heart will always stay on the farm with Josh, Auntie Lou, Grandpa, Uncle Charlie, Gramps, preacher Nat, and sweet Pixie. I laughed and cried as Josh went through life as only a young boy can - simply and humorously, yet so charmingly serious.
This book (and the whole series) are comfort reads and I never want Josh’s adventures with his family to end.
Also: justice for Callum… he needs his happy ending too.
The audiobook may be easier for some to digest, as the book uses some country slang that may slow down physical readers - I’m an audiobook girlie almost never, but the audio makes the characters come to life.
I was raised on reading and watching Little House on the Prairie, so I was born for homestead, slow living. The simple, heartfelt faith, the loveable characters, the little lessons and morals, and the charming setting and humor are so wholesome and homelike. A little piece of my heart will always stay on the farm with Josh, Auntie Lou, Grandpa, Uncle Charlie, Gramps, preacher Nat, and sweet Pixie. I laughed and cried as Josh went through life as only a young boy can - simply and humorously, yet so charmingly serious.
This book (and the whole series) are comfort reads and I never want Josh’s adventures with his family to end.
Also: justice for Callum… he needs his happy ending too.
The audiobook may be easier for some to digest, as the book uses some country slang that may slow down physical readers - I’m an audiobook girlie almost never, but the audio makes the characters come to life.
Read: December 2024
Series: season of the Heart, #1
Format: audiobook from Audible Plus
Narrator: Johnny Heller (absolutely fantastic!)
Book #143 of 2024: I enjoyed this story a lot! The narrator couldn't have been better. A first person perspective from a young boy likely isn't easy but Oke did a wonderful job! I appreciate this family and they came together out of loss and heartache. They love one another and find joy in the every day. I'm particularly fond of stories between an individual and a grandparent figure.
Series: season of the Heart, #1
Format: audiobook from Audible Plus
Narrator: Johnny Heller (absolutely fantastic!)
Book #143 of 2024: I enjoyed this story a lot! The narrator couldn't have been better. A first person perspective from a young boy likely isn't easy but Oke did a wonderful job! I appreciate this family and they came together out of loss and heartache. They love one another and find joy in the every day. I'm particularly fond of stories between an individual and a grandparent figure.
This was such a sweet book. I loved the fact that it was written from the perspective of a 12 year old boy. It was a nice change. You see the world through his eyes and it kind of took me back to the way I viewed the world at 12, even though this book takes place in the late 1800s/early 1900s. Joshua is a twelve-year old boy who lives with his 18 year-old aunt, his grandfather and his great-uncle and later, his great-grandfather. Joshua loves his little family and when he discovers that his grandfather and great-uncle start planning to find a husband for his aunt, he does not like it at all. Joshua turns to God throughout the book to help him through, but also loses his faith. His questions of "Why would God let this happen?" are typical of many people, especially young kids.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a really quick read. I laughed out-loud a couple of times at Joshua's typical boyhood behavior and understanding of the world around him.
The book focuses on the importance of family and faith. It had a wonderful, heart-warming feeling about it. Janette Oke did a great job telling the story through a 12 year-old boy. Oke's writing really gives you a great idea of who these characters are and how they sound when they speak (which I love), "I liked things jest the way they were, but if I was to keep 'em that way, it was going to take some figurin' out".
I would recommend this book - especially if you are a fan of Prairie Fiction/Christian Fiction. It is the first book in the "Seasons of the Heart" Series and I can't wait to read The Winds of Autumn!
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a really quick read. I laughed out-loud a couple of times at Joshua's typical boyhood behavior and understanding of the world around him.
The book focuses on the importance of family and faith. It had a wonderful, heart-warming feeling about it. Janette Oke did a great job telling the story through a 12 year-old boy. Oke's writing really gives you a great idea of who these characters are and how they sound when they speak (which I love), "I liked things jest the way they were, but if I was to keep 'em that way, it was going to take some figurin' out".
I would recommend this book - especially if you are a fan of Prairie Fiction/Christian Fiction. It is the first book in the "Seasons of the Heart" Series and I can't wait to read The Winds of Autumn!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think that there are two ways you could go with this. You could be touched and pleasant and say it's a sweet story about a little boy and the family he loves across a very important summer. Or you could be over it and say it's a treacly story about an idealized past written in such overweening dialect it's barely readable. I'll come down in between.
The story itself is sweet-- Joshua is young, maybe 10 and concerned with the things of a 10 year old in what seems to be the late 19th or early 20th century. He gets his chores done so he can go fishing and wishes he had a dog. His family is hodgepodged together after several tragic deaths, including his parents. He's being raised by his grandfather, very young aunt, and great-uncle. He learns a lot about life and God by watching the adults around him try to do their best.
But the dialect. "Jest" and "iffen" and not a g to be found on any gerund standing. It's legitimately difficult to read. Add to that a first-person limited point of view and the story itself is so much background noise to Joshua's little boy contemplation. It's focused, certainly, but not enjoyable.
The story itself is sweet-- Joshua is young, maybe 10 and concerned with the things of a 10 year old in what seems to be the late 19th or early 20th century. He gets his chores done so he can go fishing and wishes he had a dog. His family is hodgepodged together after several tragic deaths, including his parents. He's being raised by his grandfather, very young aunt, and great-uncle. He learns a lot about life and God by watching the adults around him try to do their best.
But the dialect. "Jest" and "iffen" and not a g to be found on any gerund standing. It's legitimately difficult to read. Add to that a first-person limited point of view and the story itself is so much background noise to Joshua's little boy contemplation. It's focused, certainly, but not enjoyable.
The rest of the series gets to be a bummer, but this is the best one. And it's a good bit of Christian fiction.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Not a fan of god and Christianity and such but indeed a fan of themes in farming, village/town life and family drama. This this book was an easy enough read to simply relax and read through.
Came to know this author after watching the tv show When calls the heart (for the same reason of easy entertainment without having to think too much haha)
Came to know this author after watching the tv show When calls the heart (for the same reason of easy entertainment without having to think too much haha)
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes