I am a huge fan of historical fiction. I long for a simpler life and community and I love the idea of the Amana colonies. I read anything about that subject on which I can get my hands. "A Simple Change" was not disappointing.
"A Simple Change" is about Jancey Rhoder and her family who move to the Amana colonies in 1881. Jancey's parents grew up and met in the colonies but moved away to avoid the one year waiting period for them to get married. Jancey was born and grew up in Kansas City, Missouri the daughter of a successful business owner. Her parents want to move back to the colonies so her ill mother can live out the rest of her life in a more peaceful place. Jancey, a volunteer teacher at an orphanage in Kansas City, chooses to move with to stay close to her mother.
What ensues is a less sedate life than Jancey expected. She immediately obtains a suitor, gets caught up in a mystery and has her former suitor travel to rescue her. Along with all that Jancey has to decide if she's going to remain in the colonies after her mother passes. She is educated and longs to be a teacher again but her job in the colonies is cleaning and laundry.
"A Simple Change" was full of drama and intrigue. I finished it well before I expected to considering it is over 350 pages. I loved it. There are some editing tasks that still need to be done but that didn't deter me. It is written in first person which is not my usual preference but I barely noticed it. If you have an interest in historical fiction, particularly the Amana colonies, I would highly recommend this book as it gives factual information about the colonies included with the dramatic fiction.
*I received a complimentary copy of "A Simple Change" from Baker Publishing for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment