Customer Reviews

Distant Dreams

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Distant Dreams is a wonderful book. I liked how it was not your usual romance. You had to deal with the society's rules of the time. I admire Carolina for her tenacity. I'm reading the second book now. Like I said, I like how it's not your usual romance, it doesn't turn out how you expect. I highly recomend it to everyone.

Even though I do not share Carolina's passion for locomotives or math and Latin, I found this book to be very interesting and informative. I had just been reading about Andrew Jackson in my history book, so that made the historical aspect of "Distant Dreams" more interesting to me. I liked the suspense in the first two books. (I'm still reading the third book.) It was hard to put down once I got into the book, which didn't take long.

I thought Distant Dreams was a very well written book. When I first started to read it I didn't really know what it was going to be about. Once I got to about the tenth chapter and I was really interested I made a mistake and I read the back cover. After that I could never put the book down because I wanted to find out what was going to happen and make sure It was what I wanted to happen. I did run into a problem with the book though. Because the anticipation of what was going to happen next was so unbearable I carried it to school with me. I would get in trouble for reading instead of doing my work. I also loved the fact about how close Carolina and her father were. I am a daddy's girl so I share there closeness. I also found it facinating how she would go to her father with problems and the advice her father gave her was usually prayer, scripture, or he would talk to her about faith. I have already read all three Ribbons of Steel books and am anxiously awaiti! ng the fourth. At the moment I am going back and reading Distanat Dreams for the second time. Even though I prety much know what is to take place it still keeps me on edge.

The time frame was interesting and the facts on the railroad opened my eyes to some things I hadn't thought of befor. I enjoyed the antics of a large family and the characters were easy to empathized with. I would have liked the charaters to have more christian depth, but I'm hopeful that Carolina will have a personal relationship to God in the next book of this series.

I have to admit there was a bit more historical reference than I would have liked when I as reading this book on the railroads however ... looking back, like The Ribbons of Steel Series I truly found it much more informative than I ever thought I would and I am ever so glad I have read both series. This is the predecessor to the Ribbon West Series, or I should say actually Book 3 that was just written really sets it up but Carolina (is the mother in the Ribbon of Steel Series, another excellent series) whom this series is written about. Carolina is much ahead of her time, poor darling ... wanting to be educated, can't figure out why no one can appreciate that she has a mind except her father, bless his heart ... and she struggles with this ... throughout this book. She doesn't want to to just be raised to be a society wife and mother and no one understands her love of railroads that are just are the coming invention! A great series, although as I said the first book is a bit full of information.

Distant Dreams (Ribbons of Steel)

This was a hard book to get into, but once you're in (about pg. 80) it is a much easier read. Carolina Adams is a fifteen year old girl who was born before her time. I will not tell you the specifics of the book, as I'm sure you'd like to read the book yourself, and not know every detail before you read it. "Distant Dreams" is a wonderful title for this book! The beginning of the book starts out with Carolina getting to climb on her first train; and that begins the saga. Carolina and her father, Joseph are very closely tied in this book. The names of the children (young adults also) in this book are very interesting. They are named, Maine, York, Virginia, Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania (Penny), and Maryland (Mary). There are some deaths in this book, and we are heartbroken when we read about them. I don't see many Christian ideas until well into the book, which is kind of disheartening. One character sure could've used a relationship with the Lord during a very bad time in his life. These are two good authors, and the book is good!

This is definately book one of a series and lives up to that nothing's resolved frustratingness that can be so horrid about book one of any series. Carolina Adams is a most unusual woman for 1830's America. She's about a century too early for her interests in masculine things such as science and learning and railroads.
James Baldwin's just not cut out to be a banker. Pressured by his father and mother he seeks Virginia Adam's hand in marriage, but he didn't count on falling back in love with the railroad or falling in love with Carolina Adams either.
Therein lies the frustration. He thinks the love is hopeless. She gets her heart broken for she is far too much of a lady to try and steal her sister's fiance. He breaks his engagment, but he's far too much the gentleman to publically dump Virginia Adams, so he leaves it to her to announce anything she pleases. James flees to his work with the trains and railroads, and Carolina pines at home still reeling from the loss of a little sister and the sheer irksomeness of being misunderstood by all.

Ribbons of steal is a wonderful story with unforgetible characters. I fell in love this this series and can't wait to read the next book.

This book is very well written and thought out. The characters are believable and the plot is never boring. And I love how Carolina is breaking the mold by wanting to learn "masculine" studies. It's an unbelievable book; and even though I had to go to many bookstores to find this (it's not being printed anymore) it is worth the wait.

Carolina Adams is not afraid to show interest in education and machinery - in particular, she has fallen in love with the new railroad in Washington, DC. Her parents engage a tutor, James
Baldwin, to assist her in her studies, and James is also expected to court Carolina's older sister Virginia at the same time. However, no one counts on James falling in love with Carolina instead. I was disappointed that James and Carolina did not openly declare their feelings, which requires reading the next book in the series.