I have to admit I picked out HOPE AT DAWN because of a bit
of
curiosity. I knew almost nothing about that time in
American history: how German-Americans were affected at
home during World War I. The year is 1918, in rural Iowa.
Olivia Campbell, Livy, just turned 20. Her boyfriend,
Robert Drake, is back from Europe injured and has taken to
the bottle, to Livy's dismay. The evening of her birthday,
Robert was supposed to join her at a local dance, but Livy
has to spend the evening alone again, waiting for him in
vain. A good-looking blond young man notices her loneliness
and asks her to dance but refuses to tell her his name,
although while chatting, he tells Livy about a
schoolteacher's vacant position in his town of Hilden, and
teaching is what Livy was hoping to do before her schooling
was interrupted by the war.
Hilden's
schoolteacher has been recently fired, Livy is
immediately hired. Hilden is home to many German-Americans,
and it's considered a plus by the townspeople that Livy is
not of German heritage. In dire need of money to help his
family, due to his father being very ill, Livy's mystery
man is
hired as a handyman to do some repairs to the school where
Livy will be teaching.
Livy has two older brothers fighting
overseas against the Germans, and Friedrick Wagner, is of
German parentage. In view of the political situation, they
try to fight their attraction to each other, but they can't
deny it.
I very much enjoyed how the love story unfolded,
slowly and realistically. Only towards the end did it occur
to me that it was an inspirational historical romance, and
even if it's not your cup of tea, HOPE AT DAWN should not be
ignored because of that; it's thoroughly researched and I
was very pleased that the author remained true to the
sensibilities of the time: you never get the impression
that those are 21st century characters catapulted into the
early 1900s.
The author magnificently captures the
Zeitgeist, the spirit of the time, how people really
thought and behaved in that era, and how prejudice affects
every life it touches. Ms. Henrie writes simply but so
effectively that HOPE AT DAWN is a very quick read. It
features a
rather large cast of secondary characters, everyone serving
a purpose in the storyline.
HOPE AT DAWN was a wonderful discovery for me, as I had
not
read anything by Stacy Henrie before, and I highly
recommend it. An extremely pleasant surprise indeed!
IN A TIME OF WAR, LOVE IS THE INSPIRATION. With her brothers away fighting the Great War overseas, Livy Campbell desperately wants to help her family. Her chance comes when she meets a handsome stranger who lands her a job as a teacher in a place far from her parents' farm. But the war casts a long shadow over the German-American town that Livy now calls home-and the darkness will test everything she thought she knew about family and love . . . More than anything, Friedrick Wagner wants to be part of his adopted country's struggle for peace. But when the bitter animosity between Germans and Americans soon turns citizens against newcomers, friend against friend, he will do whatever it takes to protect Livy from the hysteria that grips their town. As tragedy-and dark secrets from the past-threaten their future, Friedrick and Livy have one chance to stand up for what's right . . . and one chance to fight for their love.
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