A Home in Drayton Valley by Kim Vogel Sawyer

A Home in Drayton Valley by Kim Vogel Sawyer
"Hoping to escape the poor conditions of 1880 New York, Tarsie Raines and her friends Joss and Mary Brubacher and their two children set off for Kansas aboard an unusual wagon train. But when tragedy strikes on the trip across the prairie, Tarsie is thrown into a partnership with Joss that challenges all their dreams for the future.

As their funds dwindle and nothing goes as planned, will they give up and go their separate ways? Or will God help them find a new dream — and a home — together?"

I will admit it took me a while to get into this book. It took me a while to get past the first few chapters. Likely, it was because I tried to start reading it at swimming lessons. There were enough distractions, that I found myself reading the same paragraph over and over and therefore just couldn't get into the story.

Once I finally found a period of time to sit down and actually get started in the book, I quickly got caught up in the story and found myself sneaking any few minutes that I could string together to read the book. It was a good story.

I enjoyed following the story as the family of four and their friend traveled together with the wagon train west from the dirt and grime of New York City to the promised benefits of Drayton Valley, in Kansas. Unfortunately for the group, the journey was fraught with challenges and things didn't get easier once they were in Kansas.

The story addressed not only the challenges of the family, but also addressed the issues of racism - in both directions. Through the course of the story, new, and unexpected bonds were formed. Friendships were formed and love found, as the group completed their journey. We found those without faith come to find God through the examples set by others.

I am generally a fan of period literature. I find something so fascinating about the simpler times, and enjoy learning new perspectives on the challenges faced by those that lived in those times. This book, being set in the 1880s, certainly fit into that category.

This book is an enjoyable story of journeys - physical, emotional and spiritual journeys.

I enjoyed the writing style of Kim Vogel Sawyer and look forward to checking out other works by the author.

No compensation was received for this post. A review copy was provided for me to read and share my thoughts. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.