Review: (Christian Fiction) Courting Miss Amsel by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Courting Miss Amsel

by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Copyright 2011

Bethany House Publishers

346 pages

ISBN: 9780764207846

Historical Fiction

From the publisher:
Edythe Amsel is delighted with her first teaching assignment: a one-room schoolhouse in Walnut Hill, Nebraska. Independent, headstrong, and a firm believer in a well-rounded education, Edythe is ready to open the world to the students in this tiny community. But is Walnut Hill ready for her?

Having raised his nephews since their parents' untimely deaths, Joel Townsend is thrilled to learn the town council has hired a female teacher. His sons could use a woman's influence. But he sure didn't bargain on a woman like Miss Amsel. Within the first week, she has the entire town up in arms over her outlandish teaching methods. Of course, Joel can't help but notice that she's also mighty pretty—and just might make a good mother for his boys.

When Edythe decides to take her pupils to hear Miss Susan Anthony speak on the women's suffrage amendment, the town's outcry reaches new heights. Even Joel isn't sure he can support her newfangled ideas any longer. And if he can't trust her to teach the boys, how can he trust her with his heart?


My Review:

If you're looking for a guaranteed sweet and heart-warming read with more than a smidgen of faith, you can't go wrong with a story from the pen of Kim Sawyer. Each time I pick up her books I'm prepared to relax and enjoy life on the prairie. Don't be fooled by the pretty covers because books by Kim aren't just romances, there are spiritual relationships and neighbor helping neighbor camaraderie that you don't often see nowadays.

While Courting Miss Amsel started out rather slowly by the end I was cheering her on. I feel for all teachers if they go through half of what Edythe did. Walnut Hill is a small town but there sure wasn't a lack of trouble and a woman who was a suffragette ? Ohhhh the horror of it all...at least according to some of the menfolk. ;-) With some of the issues like disciplining unruly students to the aforementioned suffrage debate you really do get a feel for the workings of a prairie school and small-town life.

I liked this story, not for the romance, because there's little of that but for the sheer perseverance and courage that Miss Amsel showed. I've said it before but I'll say it again Kim Vogel Sawyer definitely has that classic style of Janette Oke and Grace Livingstone Hill. She writes an easy, naturally paced story that's always believable and suitable for readers of almost any age. Courting Miss Amsel is a worthwhile read.

To learn more about the author visit:

Her WEBSITE

* I received my review copy from the publisher in exchange for posting my honest review of the book*