Publishers Weekly
06/03/2024
Fordham (The Letter Tree) spins a tender tale of faith and new beginnings set in 1903 Iowa. After Sadie West’s father injures himself in a riding accident, the 23-year-old spitfire leaves her family’s farm for the city of Monticello, where she toils at a feather duster factory and sends her pay back home. Unable to afford lodging, she shelters in an abandoned factory behind the Taylor family mansion. When Otis Taylor returns to town to sell the house following his brother Reginald’s death, he discovers Sadie living in the nearby building. The two slowly build a friendship, and Sadie encourages the reclusive Otis, who has prominent scars on his scalp and face from harmful “remedies” for his childhood alopecia, to accept himself through God’s love. As their romance sparks, an unexpected search for Reginald’s illegitimate daughter, who may have been put up for adoption by the child’s mother, throws a wrench in the works. Fordham delicately develops her protagonists’ inner worlds as their love story develops (“He’d known that life... had been lacking, but until this moment, he’d been unsure what exactly he was missing. Now he knew”). It’s a touching, resonant ode to the power of hope. (Aug.)
Library Journal
07/01/2024
In 1903, Sadie West is determined to provide for her family after her father's farm accident, but her work at the feather duster factory in Monticello, IA, barely pays for the bare necessities. Curled up in an abandoned building, smelling of turkey feathers, and smarting from the gossip at work, Sadie is not sure how much longer she will survive in the city, until she befriends a blue coonhound. The dog turns out to belong to a heavily scarred hermit with little experience in personal relationships or mannerly conversations. He does, however, need help settling his parents' estate (which includes the building where Sadie is squatting) and strikes up an uneasy friendship with his unwanted tenant. As rumors swirl about this bustling Iowa town, regarding Otis Taylor and his deserted mansion, Sadie tries to draw the recluse out of his shell by teaching him the latest fad—roller skating. VERDICT With echoes of Jane Eyre and Beauty and the Beast, this turn-of-the-20th-century tale is sure to resonate with fans of historical romance. Fordham (The Letter Tree) pens characters whom readers will want to root for and intersperses fun historical details within a sweet love story.
