Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker, by Jennifer Chiaverini

 

I loved the civil war history told from the viewpoint of a black woman who was in the White House at the time. Keckley knew the Lincoln's personally and was a true friend to Pres. Lincoln's wife. She also was a leader in the black community and did a lot to help those who were emancipated and came to Washington expecting to find a new life, but only found Hooverville-type places to live.
Mary Todd Lincoln did not have the personality of a peach, and the author doesn't soften her. Be prepared to read her.

My favorite character in this book was Keckley's son. He looks white enough to enlist in the army and dies fighting for the cause of freedom. His life and the effects of his death brought a depth to the novel that really elevated the storyline. Remembering Keckley's loss through the rest of her interactions in the story will give any reader reason to ponder.

 

Truly an incredible, and true! story.


The Light Between Oceans, by M.L. Stedman





This is an incredible story of war and peace, love and loss, guilt, sacrifice, and redemption. The plot is intricate but (after the first couple chapters) fluid. The characters grow and change, and yet stay true to themselves.

I particularly loved the influence that the war plays in the book. All the characters are affected by it even though it is over, and it really touched me to see the effects played out in so many lives in such a variety of ways. War is awful. It changes everything except God - and it's changes are pervasive and long-lasting. This theme is close to home for me because I have a younger brother who served in the US armed forces. I was very impressed by the treatment of the after-effects of the war.

There is one case of a newlywed wife arousing her husband.

The cast of characters widens effortlessly throughout the novel, leaving the reader with many characters who are well developed (and loved!) and knowing how their stories intertwine - but at a loss convey the relationships to someone else concisely; they are too complex, but the reader hadn't realized they'd become that way.

Tom the lightkeeper has a mundane task - raising an ensign any time a "man o'war" passes the island.

"He knows keepers who swear under their breath at the obligation, but Tom takes comfort from the orderliness of it. It is a luxury to do something that serves no practical purpose: the luxury of civilization."

Anne of Avonlea, by L.M. Montgomery

Another two years in the life of Anne, an orphan child who was taken in and loved. Now she takes on two orphans herself: larger-than-life models of circumspectness and mischievousness. This very day I refrained from engaging in bad manners because of Anne’s reaction to the mischievous twin indulging in that particular behavior. (How I wanted to lick that bowl . . . )

“It does people good to have to do things they don’t like . . . in moderation.”

Mrs. Allan’s face was not the face of the girl-bride whom the minister had brought to Avonlea five years before … what her face lacked in girlish beauty was now more than atoned for in added tenderness and strength.

“… our own lives … are broad or narrow according to what we put into them, not what we get out. Life is rich and full here . . . everywhere . . . if we can only learn how to open our whole hearts to its richness and fullness.”