Julia's Hope
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4.4 • 5 Ratings
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
Like countless others in 1931, Samuel Wortham lost his job. And he lost his wife's inheritance, their home, and much of his self-respect. Samuel, his wife, Julia, and their two young children hitchhike from Pennsylvania to Illinois in hope of work. Caught on the road by a sudden storm, the Worthams take shelter in an abandoned farmhouse out of desperation.
Feeling oddly at home, Julia insists on finding the owner of the property, despite Samuel's objections, and asks for permission to stay. The owner is Emma Graham, a woman in her eighties who longs for home but can no longer live by herself. Emma and the Worthams work out a plan to live there together and restore the farm. Samuel struggles with not being able to provide for his family, and Julia and the kids confront unpleasant surprises when a busybody neighbor turns against them.
Julia's Hope is an endearing story of faith and faithfulness as Emma teaches the Worthams to live fully, give generously, and love unconditionally. She insists that the family grow where they are planted, like the garden they tend, and each member of the family is forever changed by her wisdom.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
From a fresh new voice in Christian fiction comes this simple, well-told story of one family's experience of love, generosity, forgiveness and faith during the Great Depression. Samuel and Julia Wortham and their two young children leave Harrisburg, Pa., with only eight dollars and three bags containing all their worldly goods. They're hitchhiking to Vernon, Ill., where there is the promise of a job and a roof over their heads. Along the way, the family stumbles onto a deserted farmhouse belonging to the elderly widow Emma Graham, who was forced to leave her home because of her health and longs to return. As Julia works out a solution to her family's troubles and Emma's, the small farm promises to be a haven and place of healing for all concerned if the neighbors don't interfere. George Hammond's farm adjoins Emma's, and he sees the interlopers as moving in on his territory, while spinster Hazel Sharpe is determined to see her version of justice done. Kelly tells the story from several different points of view, handling the switches smoothly and changing voices believably. The faith threads in the novel are gently woven in, rather than feeling forced or contrived, and the writing is beautifully descriptive without being overdone. The novel ends rather abruptly, leaving the reader wishing for just a bit more not a particularly bad way to finish. Overall, Kelly's smooth voice and well-crafted writing keep the pages turning.
