I found this book to be a quick and enjoyable read. Alice finds her father's diary that he had written while in high school. Then the Howard sisters gather in the evenings to read it together, discovering their father's difficult family situation and the roots of his faith journey. Also they learn about the life changing influence of their father's English teacher, Mr. Dolton, and learn a bit about Daniel's step mom, the mother of his half-sister Ethel. There are several other story lines including: Alice has a chance to become reacquainted with a beau from her past (Mark Graves, a zoo vet); the town of Acorn Hill is planning a fall festival to support local charities; Clara, an elderly widow from the community, gets a new "baby" (a miniature potbellied pig); and Alice's friend Vera is struggling with her health (which eventually they discover is due to poisoning from an herbal tea).Take away themes: 1) Investing and encouraging children is important, even though we may never directly see the results of our investments2) God can use struggles and circumstances beyond our control for his ultimate purposes
