4.5 stars.What a treat! A great reading adventure with many messages threaded through it.Alice always buries her nose in a book. She's young and flighty and a bit shallow. But a boring life as a minister's daughter with not much adventure or difficulty has made her find meaning inside the pages of a book. When she loses her librarian assistant job and her boyfriend in the same week, she decides to travel to Kentucky with her aunt to deliver some books for the rural library there. Her life changes as soon as she steps foot in the door of the library and home of Leslie (aka Mack), a burly and gruff man with a bushy beard and bad manners. Stuck there for some time, she enters the world of the people of Wonderland Creek and phew, what adventures await her.I loved this story and the characters. I loved Alice, Lillie, Mack, even Ike, the whole lot. I loved the way Alice grew up and yet didn't lose her personality in the process. I loved the way the author made us sympathise with her even when she was selfish and immature. She was just a rough diamond in the making. The story was steeped in suspense and mystery and what I'm impressed with the most was her ability to make that side of things real and uncontrived (is there such a word?). Sometimes mysteries in novels seem way too far-fetched to be real. This could be far-fetched with all the things that happen, but they're written in a real way. Like Alice really gets scared. She's not this person who enters all these adventures without any fears standing in her way. She's real. And so is Mack. And Lillie's a hoot!Great read, full of interesting historical info and settings. So many story threads running throughout the book, I just couldn't put it down.I would have liked more brought in on the romance side - the development of feelings shown more but I know this book wasn't predominantly a romance.All in all, a great read! Lynn Austin’s Wonderland Creek is historical fiction set during the Great Depression. Book-loving, 22-year-old Blue Island, Illinois, librarian Alice gets an adventure rivaling story plots she’s read when she is stranded in rural Acorn, Kentucky. Little does she know when she chooses which Kentucky library to take donated books to, she’ll end up in the middle of a generations-old family feud, a coal-mining scandal, attempted murder, romance, buried treasure, and a whole lot of hatred and mistrust. As Alice’s adventure unfolds, she learns to value relationships more than printed stories, and she learns to pray, expecting a good God to answer.I liked many aspects of Wonderland Creek, most of all Alice’s maturing into an other-centered young woman, and the steadying wisdom of Lillie, a 100-year-old former slave, who teaches Allie many life skills and lessons. Readers, too, can easily benefit from seeing examples of her life lessons, like forgiveness in action. Lynn Austin has created memorable characters, believable dialogue, and interesting, gripping subplots.As overall uplifting as this novel is, I felt very angry during the weeks Lillie kept Allie in Acorn against her will. Even knowing Lillie has noble purposes, I cannot excuse holding someone hostage. After a time, Allie becomes more in tune with the townsfolk and wants to care for Lillie. But initially, deception and manipulation reign. I was upset. If you enjoy suspense, you’ll enjoy this book, but it was too suspenseful for me. I suppose this is a tribute to Austin’s storytelling—that the mysteries felt so real; that descriptions of dark forests, abandoned mines, untrustworthy neighbors, and menacing sheriffs played like videos in my mind’s eye; that I cared about the characters in jeopardy. Perhaps if the medium is the message, uncertainty about friends, foes, and the future can lead us to realize, as Allie eventually does, the only person we truly can trust is God. Pivotal truth, but this novel was too scary for me to read before bedtime. Inspiration for this novel came from a nonfiction book about packhorse librarians in Kentucky during the Great Depression. FDR’s Packhorse Library Project paid people to deliver library books on horseback to isolated families in remote hills of Kentucky. Reading Wonderland Creek, I learned about this fascinating program as well as people's practical coping mechanisms of the thirties.
What do You think about In Wonderland (2011)?
Wow, I am sooo glad that Naomi and Emma Jane recommended this book and this author. I think she's one of my favorites (and I don't really like modern Christian fiction) There was so much in this book, so much wisdom, action, and plot. Yeah, there was A LOT of plot!! Since you are reading this on Goodreads, you can probably just scroll up a bit to catch the plot ;)First, Alice. She was kind of annoying for about three fourths of the book. She doesn't really want to help and complains a lot. It took me a while to get the Alice in Wonderland Creek thing *facepalm* But by the end, Alice had learned some valuable lessons and became a better person. I liked how this story was told in first person too!Mack, or Leslie. First off, I have like the name Mack. I watch Macgyver occasionally, and his nickname is Mac. I really like how it sounds! Mack was an interesting character with all of his secrets. He also provided some of the most exciting parts of the book: the trips to the mine.Lillie. Lillie was amazing! I had, and still have, a little bit of mixed feelings about her, but she taught so many lessons! The one that I will probably refer to most is this: “[God] wants us to work with Him, honey. Not for Him.” I think it's kind of like Mary and Martha: Martha was working for God, while Mary was working with Him.Ike. Ike was interesting... He seemed a little bit forward, but he was nice. I felt myself rooting that he would be able to play his violin on The Grand Ole Opry.June Ann. She was sooo sweet, but had so much hardship!Maggie. Wow! Talk about a many-faceted character! I really liked how Lynn Austin immersed you in the world of Acorn, Kentucky, the people, the feud, the treasure, etc. And she is a masterful plot creator!! I can't wait to read more of her!! (I have A Woman's Place checked out now!)I gave this 4 stars, but it was more like 4.5. I wanted to give this 5 stars, but Alice was a little annoying, and the scenes with Ike were a little awkward to read.Anyway, you should really give this book, and this author a try!
—67poobtb
A librarian has an adventure outside her comfort zone. The backdrop is the Great Depression and Alice is fired from her job, dumped by her boyfriend, and completed unhappy with how her life is turning out--not like the books she's read. She appoints herself to take boxes of donated books to a tiny coal mining town and finds herself in the middle of a drama and mystery.Favorite quote: "That's absurb," I said with a little laugh. "Nobody can read too much. That's like saying that someone breathes too much."
—Cindys
I couldn't finished this book. Alice character is a little boring and not matured.
—Dil
