Customer Reviews

Rorey's Secret (Country Road Chronicles #1)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Although touted as the first book in the "Country Road Chronicles" series, ROREY'S SECRET will feel more like a follow-up to Leisha Kelly's first three novels, which spin the story of the Wortham family in the Depression years.

If you haven't read Kelly's earlier books --- JULIA'S HOPE, EMMA'S GIFT and KATIE'S DREAM --- put this review down now and read them first. In JULIA'S HOPE, we are introduced to Samuel and Julia Wortham and their young family as they come to Illinois during hard times, looking for work and a place to live. Through the generosity of the elderly Emma Graham (EMMA'S GIFT), they find stability of sorts and community on a farm in rural Illinois. KATIE'S DREAM explores issues of trust as the Worthams add another child to their family. The Hammond family, with its multitude of rag-tag children living on a neighboring farm, provides plenty of chaos to keep the story chugging along.

ROREY'S SECRET takes place over a few days, but there are plenty of crises. Sam Hammond's wife Thelma arrives at their house with their two-year-old active toddler, Georgie, just in time to go into labor with their second child. The doctor is nowhere to be found (a stock device in so many novels). It's up to Julia to deliver the baby. Meanwhile, 13-year-old Rorey Hammond is up to no good with 18-year-old bad boy Lester Turrey, whose influence bodes ill for the young girl. When the Hammonds' barn and crops go up in flames, Rorey's best friend Sarah Wortham realizes that a secret Rorey has told her could hold the answer as to who is responsible. Samuel Wortham is injured in the fire, and the rest of the story revolves around his recovery (which takes place in an unbelievably short time).

Without proof of who caused the fire, the scripture-spouting Franky serves as a scapegoat. He also serves as a Christ-figure, even down to the wounds in both hands and his talent at carpentry, but the allegory is obvious rather than subtle. Franky seems too good to be true, and more dimension in his portrayal would have been welcome.

This recent offering in the Illinois family saga shows evidence that the Worthams' story may be wearing a bit thin. The many changes in points of view from chapter to chapter, which worked well in JULIA'S HOPE, seem almost superfluous here --- one wonders if a single narrator could have made for a more powerful read. Kelly has done a good job in earlier novels letting the characters carry the story, but the reliance on too many big crises (childbirth, a fire, a life-threatening injury) too fast, and a father (George Hammond) who seems too gullible and unfeeling to be credible mar this installment.

These problems aside, Kelly does a good job examining the response of conscientious children to tragedy (Sarah believes that her father's injury is her fault, since she hid Rorey's secret). Kelly once again also wrestles with the problem of bad things that happen to good people through the character of Julia. "Why Lord? Why did this have to happen? Samuel's been so good. And he's gone through so much in his life. It doesn't seem right." Anyone who has watched a good family go through hard times will resonate with her feelings.

Readers of the series will enjoy the happy ending that brings various estranged family members back together after years apart. Although this is the weakest of the four books in the series, Kelly's loyal readership will enjoy catching up with the lives of the characters.

--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby. Contact Cindy [...]

Rorey's Secret is a novel about two families who find their faith in God severely tested by the destruction of a raging fire. One woman harbors a disturbing secret about what really caused the fire, yet she is trapped at a crossroads between telling the truth and betraying a promise to a close friend. An emotionally moving story about faith, hard choices, and the healing power of forgiveness unfolds. Also recommended are author Leisha Kelly's previous novels, "Julia's Hope", "Emma's Gift", and "Katie's Dream".

I love the continuing story of the Worthams and the Hammonds. Helping a large family when they have next to nothing is heartwarming and their creativity is very interesting. There's a lot we can learn about living simply and it definitely shows how important love is. I hope there will be another in the series.

Though life has been hard during the Depression, Samuel and Julia Wortham have weathered the storms through faith while raising their children. The Worthams believe they are blessed as they and their children have been healthy, they still own their Dearing, Illinois farm, and the two remain very happy with one another and with their children.

However, in 1938, disaster strikes at the farm of their close friend and neighbor George Hammond when a fire destroys much of his property. After the blaze is put out, but not before much damage to the crops and the barn occurs, everyone begins to wonder what caused the inferno. Most people believe Franky Hammond set the fire except teenage Sarah who feels Rorey caused the disaster as they share a secret that both keeps silent about even as their families struggle with a new beginning with only their faith in God keeping them going.

Six years have passed since the Great Depression impacted the Wortham and Hammond families (see KATIE'S DREAM, JULIA'S HOPE AND EMMA'S GIFT) and the children in those tales are now adults or teens. However, the message remains the same though told from new perspectives; that when things seem bleak, hopeless, and darkest salvation and solace is with the Lord. The story line is exciting as readers observe varying viewpoints about the fire and its aftermath. Americana Historical Christian readers will enjoy this fine tale of salvation after the brutal test of fire.

Harriet Klausner

I was really surprised that I liked this book so much. For one, I'd never heard of the author or her other books, and since I got it free for the Kindle, I wasn't expecting much (I wasn't impressed by my previous "free limited time promotional offer" read). Secondly, I'm not a huge fan of the Christian novel genre: too many seem corny, contrived, and all too predictable.

Despite my preconceptions, I really did enjoy this book. The first thing the novel had going for it in my mind was its setting in a historical time period; I do really enjoy historical fiction. Beyond that though, it's just an easy novel to get caught up in. Characters were not cheesily Christian and too-perfect; they were more real than that, messing up, even knowing it, but still struggling to have faith in the belief they proclaimed. I liked how the narrators shifted, as it threw in some unpredictability (especially since the title character Rorey wasn't a narrator until later in the novel, when her secret was already revealed), but my favorite was Juli, who I connected with completely both in her faith and in her struggle to walk in it, trusting completely amidst such stressful circumstances. At first I was a bit lost with the sheer number of important characters, but it ended up being one of my favorite parts of the book: so many twists and turns were possible with so many ages, personalities, and the interactions between them all.

I give it five stars, but will share my one bit of "constructive criticism": the last chapter did seem to wrap things up a bit too quickly. Since it's #1 in a series, I would have preferred it leaving things at a bit of a cliffhanger (which also would have encouraged me to seek out and buy #2 ;-D). As it was, I was a bit disappointed to see a book which was otherwise authentic and unpredictable end up with such an uninteresting point-by-point, matter-of-fact "and this happened to Rorey, and this is how Samuel is now, and we wrote letters to Grandma, The End".

All in all though, a great read... especially if you can get it free on Kindle! Smart marketing for the publisher because this author's other books are now going on my wishlist :-D

After the fire almost destroyed all they had, the Hammonds and the Worthams pulled through with the help pf each other. At night a fire broke out at the Hammond's farm. The Samuel and Robert Wortham rushed to help out. In an attempt to save his animals, one of the Hammond boys ran into the barn. Samuel ran in after him and managed to save his life, but not with out almost killing himself. After managing to put the fire out the whole family of Hammonds plus the others went over to the Wortham's house to house for the night. Rorey Hammond, who actually started the fire with her not supposed to be boyfriend by knocking over a lantern while dancing, blamed Franky, her older brother who wasn't very bright, because her boyfriend, Lester Turrey, said to. As a result, everyone believed Rorey until Sarah told the family about Rorey's secret plans with Lester Turrey. Meanwhile, Samuel wasn't getting better because he suffered from a head concussion, a huge gash in his foot, and possibly broken ribs. In the end everything works for the good and Samuel is fun in no time and the Hammond family pulled together even closer. Rorey's Secret was an exceptional book and worth the read.

On reason why this book was so good was because it was very emotional. Some examples from the book are when, one, Franky's dad always got mad at him for no reason and would punish him unfairly and yell at him constantly. Two, Sarah yelled at Rorey until she confessed it was her that started the fire. This was emotional because Sarah and Rorey had been friends for seven years and know Sarah had to set things straight. Three, in the end of the book Samuel's mother, who had a bad reputation of being a drunk, came to visit the family for the first time.

Another reason was because the book was full of suspense. One example was when Samuel ran into the barn and came out unconscious and Julia Wortham, his wife, was extremely worried. Another was when Rorey miss treated her brother, Franky, after he followed her to one of her meetings with Lester by placing the blame on him for the fire. The last example was when Rorey and Mr. Hammond didn't talk to or come over to the Wortham's even though all his kids were there.

The last reason why this book was so good was because it had interesting characters that told the story from their point of view. One of those characters was Julia Wortham. She was a worried wife and a good hostest. In the book the thing that makes the most interesting was when had over 20 people at her house and they all need special attention. She managed to see to it all but she got next to nothing in hours of sleep and got up the next day ready to the same thing. The other character was Sarah Wortham, Julia's daughter. She was the only one besides her mom who believed him when he said he didn't start the fire, Because Sarah had inside information, she was the one who figured out that Rorey started the fire. The last character is Franky Hammond; the kid who everyone believed started the fire. He was a boy who dropped out of school on account of that he had trouble reading and doing math and other things. He worked with Samuel and was taught by Julia, who was like his second mother. Because he had the learning disability, everyone didn't like him and blamed all their trouble on him.

The most important reason why I liked this book was because it was very moving. It was moving to the fact that God could pull all of them through something like that and end in a good note. One reason why was so moving was because everyone had already been through one crisis and hadn't completely gotten through it when they had the fire. Another reason was because Samuel's mother came back to apologize for the way she acted from when he was little and turned her life to the Lord. I recommend this book in the highest regards.

H.Wissmann

All of the books in this series have been excellent. This one was no exception.

A nice book with a fairly happy ending that most will find enjoyable. Everyone gets back together. This one is weaker than the others in the series.

Rorey always protected herself regardles who she said was to blame. Especially when Rorey was truley the guilty person. Her father always believed her even when other characters knew differently. This series of books by Ms. Kelly holds alot of interest for me. I hope to be able to read more of them.

It was a little slow. I knew what was going to happen from the beginning.