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A review by lutheranjulia
Hope at Dawn by Stacy Henrie
3.0
Christian romance is not usually my genre, but I received a copy of this book for review from NetGalley and who doesn't love a free book? I was instantly pulled into Livy's story. Worried about her brothers fighting in France during World War 1, she is mourning the loss of her college experience and dreams, as well as the change in her presumed fiancé who has returned from the front.
In a series of coincidences (or events arranged by God?), she meets Frederich and goes to teach in a nearby town. She will be teaching in a one-room school house which serves mostly German-American children, daughters and sons of immigrants or first-generation Americans. In taking the position and meeting the families, Livy has to confront her own feelings about the community and its inhabitants, as well as their prejudices about her.
The struggle to prove their allegiance was constant for German-Americans during both World Wars. Many families went bankrupt purchasing war bonds to demonstrate their loyalty (sometimes due to local pressures). In the first WW, German-American men who had military deferments for legitimate reasons were seriously questioned. This book shows the struggles this community faced and how many people were affected by the prejudices and hurts that cut both ways.
It is worth noting that we have not moved much beyond this kind of suspicion and community distrust. So many of our Arab and/or Muslim- American neighbors have experienced this kind of struggle in recent years and some still do. This gentle novel with its emotional ups and downs packs some serious lessons for what it means to be community and neighbor.
In a series of coincidences (or events arranged by God?), she meets Frederich and goes to teach in a nearby town. She will be teaching in a one-room school house which serves mostly German-American children, daughters and sons of immigrants or first-generation Americans. In taking the position and meeting the families, Livy has to confront her own feelings about the community and its inhabitants, as well as their prejudices about her.
The struggle to prove their allegiance was constant for German-Americans during both World Wars. Many families went bankrupt purchasing war bonds to demonstrate their loyalty (sometimes due to local pressures). In the first WW, German-American men who had military deferments for legitimate reasons were seriously questioned. This book shows the struggles this community faced and how many people were affected by the prejudices and hurts that cut both ways.
It is worth noting that we have not moved much beyond this kind of suspicion and community distrust. So many of our Arab and/or Muslim- American neighbors have experienced this kind of struggle in recent years and some still do. This gentle novel with its emotional ups and downs packs some serious lessons for what it means to be community and neighbor.