Customer Reviews

Washington Avalanche, 1910

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book was really really good and is one of my favorite books ever. It's even better than Hindenburg, Cameron Dokey's other book in the series. This book was romantic and exciting and at times I was nearly crying. I reccomend this book to all fans of historical romances.

This is the story of two girls: Virginia and Ginny. They look alike and both come from tragic and difficult backgrounds. Ginny is running away from her step-brother to start a new life in Seattle, and Virginia is on her way to marry a man she has never met. Virginia helps Ginny escape her brother, and Ginny wants to return the favor. So...Ginny agrees to pretend she is Virginia and meet this "Nicholas" guy (Virginia's betrothed) and pretend that Virginia is her best friend. This way, Virginia can check him out and make sure he's fit to be a husband. However, there is chemistry between Nicholas and Ginny, and Ginny can't find it in her to tell Nick the truth.
Virginia, of course, is furious, because Nicholas is a great guy, and he's HER fiancee. What will Nick do when he finds out the truth (which he's bound to find out!). Plus, all this is happening on a train that's stranded in the middle of a snowstorm, and all the passengers might very well die anyway!

Truth to tell, this book was a fun read. It was quick, fast (including the beginning), and cute. If you really want to read a book that's historical, I wouldn't recommend this book. Realistically, you aren't going to see literary elements or historical detail in this book. You're not going to learn anything from themes or anything. I mean, this isn't that type of book. I don't think it was meant to be. But that isn't why I gave it 4 stars.
The reason that I took away 1 star is because of Ginny. She's not exactly the best main character. After all, she takes Virginia's betrothed away from her. Plus, she makes a bad decision in the book in a desperate attempt (which I'm not going to give away).
The book was a good read, but if you are looking for historical romance, read Ann Rinaldi. Her audience is more geared towards younger readers, but her books "teach" more and are (in my opinion) more original. From this series, the only other one I have read is Hindenburg. I recommend it over Washington Avalanche, though the ending is sad. If you like Dokey, I recommend highly The Storyteller's Daughter.

I was very pleased to read this charming, delightful story based on a horrible tragedy that took 96 lives. Of those 96 lives, my great-grandmother, Sarah Covington was one. I know my mother and her sisters would have loved this book.

This book is an interesting story about a young woman who trades places with another young woman because she is afraid of meeting her new fiance that she has never seen or talked to. It turns out that the man is actually sweet and charming, so the first young woman wants to trade back places, but they have already lied to everyone, so it is too late. The end is sad, but also happy as well. I recommend it to all historical fiction fans.

I selected the novel because I'm a hopeless romantic with completely idealistic thoughts and expectations of love and relationships. The novel definitely fit the reader in this case. If you're not a romantic don't read the book, but if you are, it's a tear jerker and heart flitter. I was taken with the character of Ginny. Ginny escapes her stepbrother who is trying to take her inheritance by marrying her off to a scoundrel. On the train, Ginny meets Virginia who is also escaping her abusive father in a sense. She is part of an arranged marriage to Nicholas Bennett. Since Virginia's father is abusive, and her father arranged the marriage Virginia asks Ginny to switch identities with her so that she can check Nicholas out before marrying him (She assumes that Nicholas must also be like her father.). Nicholas checks out to be a great find for Virginia, but Ginny and Nicholas fall in love before the switch is revealed.

If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be amazing. Cameron Dokey has written a book that is romantic, sad, exciting, and thrilling. I enjoyed every moment of this book and I highly reccomend it to teens who like love stories. Cameron Dokey is an amazing author.

I love alot of the books by Cameron Dokey, but frankly, this one was a disapointment. I love her style of writing and this book was very informative and had some really fun parts. But I was surprised and sad to see how morals were twisted and made to seem acceptable. This bothered me immensly and I didn't like the end at all. It didn't leave a feeling of satisfaction when I finished it and I was even a little angry. I felt that the book lacked consequences to the immoral behavior. I didn't fall in love with the hero, as I usually do in books, and the herorine didn't impress me. She isn't a role model I would choose for myself. This was an interesting read and I learned more about this tragic event in history, but I probably wouldn't give it to my child to read someday. If this review gave too much of the story away, I apologize. But I felt that I should warn someone in case they feel as I do.

This book is the awesome story of a strong young woman, Ginny Nolan, who embarks on a desperate journey in order to escape her horrid and controlling relatives. For years, Ginny was forced to live with her unloving stepbrother-in-law and his snobby upper-class wife. When she finds out that her relatives are planning to marry her off to a man who only wants her fortune, she makes up her mind to run away and boards a train that very night. On the train, she meets Virginia Hightower, a young girl her own age who shares a striking physical resemblance with her. They become friends instantly and Ginny soon finds out that Virginia too has led a hard life and is on her way to marry a man she's never met. Since Virginia's terrified that her intended will turn out to be as harsh as her father, Ginny agrees to switch identities with her so she can find out what her fiance is like. The two women's lives are turned upside down when Ginny and Nicholas, Virginia's charming fiance, find themselves falling in love and Ginny becomes torn between loyalty to her best friend and the fierce love she's found with Nicholas. On top of everything else, the three of them soon find their very lives in danger when the train becomes trapped in the path of a deadly avalanche.

I can honestly tell you that I DESPISE sappy romance stories, and this awesome book is nothing like that. Ginny is a truly lovable heroine, but she has her faults and is luckily not annoyingly perfect or swoony. Virginia is also sweet and spunky, and I found myself alternately sympathising and scolding both characters at different times. One of the best things about this story is that the characters and the circumstances are very realistic; the author never sugarcoats anything and the plot twists are often very hard on the characters. Don't expect a sugary sweet fairytale ending, either. The ending is moving, but there's a lot of tragedy mixed with the joy and I cried every time I read it. The ending is good, however, and I really can't understand why a few other people said that it wasn't moral or that Ginny wasn't a good heroine. Yes, she does make a big mistake near the end of the book, but she pays for it dearly and nearly loses everything because of it. Try to remember what Ginny's going through before you judge her too harshly.

All in all, this book was one of the very best in the Historical Romance series and I highly recommend it even if you don't generally like romance. Cameron Dokey is truly a remarkable writer who knows a lot about human nature and I suggest checking out anything written by her, especially her retold fairy tales!

After reading San Francisco Earthquake, The Great Chicago Fire, and others in the series, I anticipated that Washington Avalanche would be a great read. I was, to say the least, a little disappointed. The story is about a girl named Ginny who escapes from her evil stepbrother Stephen by train. She meets Virginia, who's on her way to meet a fiance she's never met. Nicholas [the fiance] surprises them when he boards the train to meet Virginia. Ginny and Virginia switch places, allowing Virginia to see who Nicholas is before she marries him, but Ginny falls in love with Nicholas. She does something horrible with him before he finds out the truth about the swtich. Then the avalanche happens. The ending is very sad, and it wasn't morally right, so I'm pretty disappointed. I'm disappointed with the choice that Ginny made, and the fact that the book seemed to support the choice was pretty bad. I wouldn't recommend it for younger readers, but all in all, it was an OKAY READ.

I have enjoyed all of the books in this series so far. Washington Avalanche, 1910 is no exception. Two girls, both named Virginia, meet be chance on an ill-fated train ride through Washington state. Neither of them realize that the outcome of their meeting, and the results of a plan they hatch to disguise their real reasons for this train trip, will change their lives forever. This book is full of romance, history and sadness (this was a horrific accident in American history), but I found it enjoyable and a good read.