Room for Hope

Kim Vogel Sawyer is one of my favorite authors for Christian historical fiction. Set during the depression years in Buffalo Creek, Kansas, Neva keeps the home fires burning while her husband travels over the state to obtain supplies for the mercantile. Her twins Bud and Belle wait patiently for their dad to arrive from his month long trip. Instead the sheriff from a neighboring town approaches with a wagon full of expensive furniture and three young children. The author's details and dialogue with the character paints such a vivid picture in my mind that often I feel as if I have watched a movie. The strong emotions battling in the mind of the mother is a delicate balance with her own twins and the three orphans placed in her care. The town goes from being supportive of the young widow to being critical and mean spirited. The outright rejection of  Neva  and all the children puts a strain of the family and the business which provides their lone support.