Angel Sister

Families can be the source of great love, support and blessing. Unfortunately, family situations can also cause some of life’s greatest sorrows. In her new novel, Angel Sister, Ann Gabhart tells the touching story of an American family living in small-town Kentucky during the Great Depression. Although better off than many, the family of young Kate Merritt is struggling. Not only are financial times tough, but Kate’s father Victor uses alcohol to drown his memories from World War I, both grandfathers are critical and spiteful toward the family, and family issues of the past threaten to separate them all. Kate, the responsible child with a tender heart, attempts to bear some of the heavy burden to ease her parents’ load and to keep the family afloat.

One day, Kate discovers an abandoned girl on the steps of the church named Lorena Birdsong. Kate brings Lorena home, cares for her, and comforts her. Unfortunately, Lorena’s arrival brings all of the family’s issues to a head. Struggles from the past and present issues collide, and the Merritt’s are forced to deal with the problems they have attempted to ignore. With flashbacks interspersed throughout the novel, author Ann Gabhart weaves an emotional story of a family who must hang on to love while learning to forgive and learning how to move forward together.

I truly enjoyed the characters in this novel. Some were easy to love, some were easy to pity, and some were easy to hate. They seemed so real, and I could easily relate to their struggles as they attempted to move forward from the pain of the past. Through the pages, I felt as if I were in Kentucky in the summer of 1936, and I enjoyed the story immensely. Ann Gabhart has written a beautiful story, and I recommend it to you.

Lauren is a wife, mother-of-two, and an avid reader. She thanks Revell Publishing for the review copy of this book. Lauren blogs at Baseballs and Bows.