Customer Reviews

Where Willows Grow

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book has Kim Sawyer's signature depth of characterization. As the reader, I quickly fell in love with Anna and her struggles. The characters were rich and diverse. Harley is a man who has pulled himself up and works hard to support his family. Jack has a successful dairy farm, but is focused on the love that's been denied him. Dirk is a man who will teach Harley what sacrifice is about. And Anna is a woman trying to make the best of an impossible situation.

I also love the way Kim makes the setting come alive. She pulls together unknown pieces of Kansas history that add richness and depth to the plot. I also enjoyed the fact that this book was set during the Depression. This has been a time period that has been overlooked by many historical authors, yet Kim makes it come to life in a manner that kept me engaged from page one.

But true love wins out in this wonderful book by Kim Vogel Sawyer, another touching, insightful story, this time set in the Depression in drought-stricken Kansas. Using believable characters, she weaves a tale of God's provision and the redemption of broken dreams.

Anna Mae loves her husband, but it's been a while since she and Harley shared much more than frustration. They're on the brink of losing the farm they both dearly love because of the severe drought and the depressed economy. Out of desperation, Harley decides to take a WPA job, which will mean leaving his wife and two little girls. Anna Mae, unhappy about the situation, doesn't even say good-bye to her husband, and they part in anger.

Far away from her husband, Anna Mae's situation seems to go from bad to worse, especially when lifelong neighbor, Jack, decides he still loves Anna Mae and it would be best if her son-of-a-sharecropper husband didn't return at all.

This book delivers quite an emotional punch and will touch your heart, as true love, in all its many forms, wins out in the end. Don't miss it!

This book is a story of enduring love during the Depression period of our country's history. Anna Mae and Harley Phipps are barely surviving on the farm her parents left her. Harley travels across the state of Kansas, against his wife's wishes, to work on a WPA project of building a castle to make money for food and taxes. Several events occur to keep them from receiving letters from each other, leading to more hurt feelings. They are both involved in harmful accidents which God can use for good if they will let Him. The blurb on the back of the book says "Her heart aches for his return, but is the distance between them measured by more than miles?" I hope you will order this book and find out the answer for yourself. If you are like me, you will be happy at the joyful ending, but sad that your visit with these heartwarming characters is at an end.

Enduring the depression, drought and dust storms of Kansas in the 1930s was hard enough for Anna as she watched her farm wither away, but when she finds herself pregnant with their third child, mule-less because her husband sold them for food, and husbandless because he has crossed the state to build a castle with the Works in Progress Administration, she feels abandoned. What will become of her, her farm and her marriage?

Though I could hardly stand to read about the trials that Anna and her husband, Harley, faced, this was a compelling story. As a mother I could really relate to Anna's anguish as she worried for her children. As a wife I could relate to the realistic portrayal of the woman left to hold house and home together. And, as a reader, I wanted to pummel the creep of a "friend" who believed he was acting in Anna's best interest--at the expense of Harley.

This story continues Kim Vogel Sawyer's tradition of gentle stories of hope, but it doesn't shy away from the harsh realities of life.

Armchair Interviews says: Well written and compelling.

The story opens with Anna Mae, a young wife struggling to raise her family in the lean, dry years of the Depression, discovering that the road of life just got considerably rougher. Already raising two children, she faces another pregnancy. On top of that, her husband, Harley, is talking of getting a distant job which would leave her alone on their failing Kansas farm until he could return. Annie is tough, but a strange turn of circumstances leads to her feel abandoned by the man she loves, while the only help she gets with the farm forces her to face trouble that nearly turns her world upside-down. But she is never alone, as her faith in God rises with the intensity of her struggles. Author Kim Sawyer touches upon real life issues with an honesty that refreshes, but in the tradition of Janette Oke, Where Willows Grow remains family-friendly with a satisfyingly good ending. I was rooting for Anna from page one. Kim's secondary characters will not disappoint, either.

A wonderful story set in the Depression Era. Kim takes us on a journey of struggles caused by lack and the promise of what hope, endurance, and love can bring. The emotions shared between the husband and wife ring true for any generation.

When Harley brought home a crate full of foodstuff, plus a new hat for Anna Mae, he expected her to be excited. But she knew he didn't have the money to pay for such things, and then he told her he was going to help build a castle in Kansas of all places. The man had lost his mind and she told him so. Harley didn't take it well. He loved his wife, but that didn't give her the right to question his decisions. fter all, he was the head of his household and he had to do something. The drought had wiped out their crops,and if he didn't earn money they would lose the farm. This government job was a blessing, but Anna Mae couldn't seem to see it that way.
Harley left for his new job, and Anna Mae was still angry. Days went by with no word from either one. Was this the end of their marriage? Or was someone they both considered a friend trying to cause trouble between them? Harley and Anna Mae went through some hard times, and they were both too stubborn for their own good, but love has a way of winning out in the long run. A strong story of love and faith, anger and doubt, and a man and woman determined to stay together, no matter what happened.

In 1936 Spencer, Kansas, Anna Mae Phipps feels all alone in the world as the family farm is dying due to the drought and her beloved spouse Harley has left their home to work construction for the federal government's Works in Progress Administration. She feels isolated and abandoned as she has no husband, no mule, an infant Marjorie, an older preadolescent child Dorothy, and a third on the way. Anna Mae fears that Harley will not come back to her and the kids; if he does he probably will not find them on the farm that they will surely lose.

Harley misses his family as he loves his wife and two children. He desperately needs to bring in income to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads; that is why he sold their last mule and took a crazy job on the other side of the state building a castle in Lindsborg. He left his spouse angry with him, but he knows the corn cannot grow and if it did who could afford to buy it. He plans to make enough money so that he can come home to his family on their farm.

WHERE WILLOWS GROW is a strong Americana family drama that focuses on the impact of the Depression in Kansas. Readers will feel Anna Mae's sense of desertion and hopelessness while also knowing how much Harley misses her and their children, but feels he must do what is needed to insure his family is fed and sheltered. Though the economic climax seems to simple, historical fiction readers will appreciate Kim Vogel Sawyer's deep look at what a 1930s family did to survive on a drought ridden Plains.

Harriet Klausner

An interesting book about surviving on a land parched from no rain during the depression. Anna Mae has a strong belief in God to see her family through the drought. Her husband Harley fights with giving himself over to God because he feels there is no God that has ever done anything for him in his life, due to parents that only thought of God in a curse word.

Harley hears about a castle being built in the middle of Kansas, so walks from his home in Spencer to Lindsborg to get a job in order to save the farm he promised Anna Mae's father to keep. Along the way he meets a young man named Dirk, who is a Christian. They end up being best friends and working on the job site together. Dirk shares his view of God with Harley, and ends up saving Harley's life, while loosing his own.

Kim Vogel Sawyer always writes interesting books on a Christian level and shows just how fragile we as humans can be when tested with adversity.

The castle named in this book was built in 1932, while the story starts in April 1936. Since half the book refers to the Coronado Castle, the year of building should have been correct. This is a glaring error.

I like "historical fiction" because I also learn something about the area, while having an interesting story to go along with it. This fact should have been correct. Since Ms. Sawyer lives in Kansas, seems she should not have made that error.

This isn't a bad book by any means, but I was hoping for a little bit of a historical fiction read, maybe dates or details about Coronado heights. This is more of a fast read for someone wanting a christian book, as it talks more about their Christianity than anything else.