A Father’s DeceitA Husband’s Betrayal
A Loved One’s Death
A Mother’s Choice
A Daughter’s Resentment
A Time to Forgive
For every daughter who thinks she knows her mother’s story…
Katherine wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t found the last letter…
Katherine Arthur’s dying mother arrives on her doorstep, forcing her to relive a past she wanted to forget. When Katherine was young, the Arthur family had been affluent city dwellers until shame sent them running for the prairie, into the unknown. Taking her family, including young Katherine, to live off the land was the last thing Jeanie Arthur had wanted, but she would do her best to make a go of it. For Jeanie’s husband Frank it had been a world of opportunity. Dreaming, lazy Frank. But, it was a society of uncertainty — a domain of natural disasters, temptation, hatred, even death.
Ten-year-old Katherine had loved her mother fiercely, put her trust in her completely, but when there was no other choice, and Jeanie resorted to extreme measures on the prairie to save her family, she tore Katherine’s world apart. Now, seventeen years later, Katherine has found the truth — she has discovered the last letter. After years of anger, can Katherine find it in her heart to understand why her mother made the decisions that changed them all? Can she forgive and finally begin to heal before it’s too late?
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***My Personal Review***
I really liked this book - I am a huge fan of novels about prairie life and this had both the old days element and the present. Katherine is an extremely sympathetic character but as the book progresses the reader is drawn into the past as Katherine begins to examine WHY her mother did the things she did. And the stories her mother tells remind me a lot of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books :) And once we start reading about the backstory Jeanie becomes a sympathetic character as well where at first she seemed to be demonized by her daughter.
I am very close to my mother and could never imagine having a relationship like Katherine and Jeanie has, but it is an eye-opener. I love the way the author switches back and forth between the past and present without completely confusing the reader as a lot of books do. And the realities of life on the prairie are portrayed perfectly - it was an extremely rough life and even kids who lived it very young have trouble realizing just how hard it really was for their parents.
I really enjoyed reading this book and I will definitely be recommending it to all my book friends! Anyone who loves historical fiction or contemporary novels would enjoy reading this!
---------------------------------------------------------------
***My Personal Review***
I really liked this book - I am a huge fan of novels about prairie life and this had both the old days element and the present. Katherine is an extremely sympathetic character but as the book progresses the reader is drawn into the past as Katherine begins to examine WHY her mother did the things she did. And the stories her mother tells remind me a lot of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books :) And once we start reading about the backstory Jeanie becomes a sympathetic character as well where at first she seemed to be demonized by her daughter.
I am very close to my mother and could never imagine having a relationship like Katherine and Jeanie has, but it is an eye-opener. I love the way the author switches back and forth between the past and present without completely confusing the reader as a lot of books do. And the realities of life on the prairie are portrayed perfectly - it was an extremely rough life and even kids who lived it very young have trouble realizing just how hard it really was for their parents.
I really enjoyed reading this book and I will definitely be recommending it to all my book friends! Anyone who loves historical fiction or contemporary novels would enjoy reading this!
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About the Author
A Language Arts Coach with a Ph.D. in Reading Education, Kathleen lives in Oakmont, Pennsylvania with her husband and two children. Kathleen's debut novel, The Last Letter was garnered multiple awards in 2011. Her second novel, After the Fog (Silver IPPY), was a category finalist in the 2013 Eric Hoffer Book Awards. Her third novel, Love and Other Subjects, earned a Silver medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards and received an Honorable Mention from the San Francisco Book Festival. Recently, Kathleen has released the her first romance novella, Home Again (Book One). Book Two, a novel-length work in the Endless Love series called Return to Love, will be released in May, 2014. Books Two and Three in the historical fiction series that started with The Last Letter are nearly complete and should be released by fall, 2014.
Kathleen has been featured in USA Today and the Writer’s Guide to 2013. Her work has appeared in The Tribune-Review, four Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and Pittsburgh Parent magazine. She lives in Oakmont, Pennsylvania with her husband and two children.
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I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, all the opinions above are 100% my own.
NOW FOR THE AUTHOR'S GIVEAWAY !!
THREE Lucky Winners will each receive a $15 Amazon Giftcard,
courtesy of author of The Last Letter, Kathleen Shoop
Ending on Sunday 3rd August at 11.59pm EST
Open Worldwide
Enter Below & Good Luck !!
This book just seemed to take hold of me, I couldn't put it down, totally loved it. Loved your review too x
ReplyDeleteThis was a great historical read. I enjoyed it too.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this heartfelt review. It's so wonderful that although your relationship with your mother is warm and fabulous that you were able to see the ways other mothers and daughters have trouble with theirs! Thank you for reading and for taking the time to craft such a detailed and lovely review!
ReplyDeleteI would use the gift card to help my daughter buy textbooks. She will be starting college this fall.
ReplyDelete