Dana's Valley

I read Janette Oke's Love Comes Softly series about 20 years ago and I didn't like it.  That statement makes me feel incredibly old, by the way. The books were (and still are) wildly popular, but they just were not my thing.  I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction,  plus I remember thinking the stories were a tad fluffy.  Perhaps I simply got burned out with the number of books in the series. Whatever the reason, I never read anything else by Janette Oke. 

Fast forward a few years.  One of my sister's favorite authors is Janette Oke.  She included an Oke book on the first Sisters Book Challenge that I never got around to reading, and when she included another on this year's list, I knew I needed to give the author another try.

Dana's Valley by Janette Oke and her daughter, Laurel Oke Logan is the story of an average Christian family-- average income, average jobs, average kids-- who faces a tremendous trial that tests their dedication to each other and makes them question their faith in God. Saying any more about the plot will give away elements of the story.  The book is told in first person, from the perspective of one of the children, an adolescent girl.  As the story unfolds, we hear details and thoughts from several years of her life.

This is not one of those books that introduces a dilemma and has you on the edge of your seat waiting for the outcome.  It does, however, bring you back wanting to go alongside the narrator and her family as they walk their journey.

I did not find the writing light or shallow so perhaps my impression from 20 years ago was inaccurate.  The time period was modern, too, so I didn't have to get around my fear of historical fiction.  Did this book mold me into a new Janette Oke fan?  Probably not.  But the story was well-written and enjoyable.