This was definitely one of the better Women of the West books, albeit one of the shortest and simplest. It is such a sweet and cheerful story, even with the sadness of the town dieing when the mill closed.I actually had read this before when I was a teen and forgot about it until near the end when the baby is born. It had started to feel familiar at times midway through the book but apparently that one scene really stuck with me.There really isn't much hardship and adversity in this book. Julia's family was very blessed and fortunate that they had an inheritance from a rich uncle, a nice house, nice wedding gifts to sell, and a rich father back East to ship the daughters off to when things got bad. I would have liked to see the perspective of some of the other townspeople who suffered a lot more.I think the best part of this book was the stories of the boarders that Julia took in. It gave the book a sense of adventure and made it much more interesting than it would have been otherwise.As with all of Janette Oke's books, you have to put up with some preachiness in the story but it made sense in this book and barely escaped feeling overdone.I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a quick, easy, lighthearted read. There are also some good lessons about gratefulness, materialism, and hard work that would make this a good book for young girls.
Thoughts on the entire series.Overall, Women of the West is my favorite series (that I’ve read so far) by Oke, where I really reveled in what the author had to bring in all of her sweet, warm, and simplistic glory. However, the books aren’t only warm fuzzies, as Oke does deal with some tough, and even some potentially controversial, issues, giving the reader some points to chew on but doing it in her warm style.I’ve read most of the books in the series more than once (maybe even three times, with The Measure of a Heart), and while not each of them are individual favorites of mine, the series as a whole took me places I’m so grateful to have gone.
What do You think about Julia's Last Hope (2006)?
Julia's Last Hope seems to not have a valid point, like the author was rushed to deadline or something. Julia and her husband live in a very fine house that they acquired in a logging community. The mill shuts down and the town dries up. Julia stays and encourages some of the hold outs to persevere. In the end, there was no real point to the book, just failed communication between husband and wife. Not the quality of her other books which always seemed to not only have a point but got you well invested. Not worth your time.
—Morris Graham
I fell in love with Julia Harrigan and her family as they fight to save the town they love. Though they end up leaving the now-ghost town of Calder Springs, it is evident that they stayed as long as they were needed to stay, and learned the lessons and had the experiences God had for them there. Each new phase of their adventure in the dying town teaches them more about faith in God and being a witness...as well as introduces them to some interesting characters. The life journey God has for each of us.. Promises the same - growing faith, mountaintop, and valley experiences as we grow in our intimacy with our Heavenly Father!!
—Larisha
O think this book must have been shorter than the first book in the series. I have read the whole thing today. A poignant story about what happens to a small pioneer town when the one source of employment and business closes. Julia, the protagonist, does her best to work toward making the town self sufficient again by advertising it as a place to vacation.Sadly, one by one the other families leave and only Julia and John are left. John has already found work in another town so has been away much of the time in the last few months.They had sent their daughters East for schooling since the school in the town had been closed.In the end John and Julia decide that a house in that little town was a lot less important than having the family together, and the book ends with the knowledge that the family was going to be reunited.
—Dorrice
