Customer Reviews

Wonderland Creek

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Wonderland Creek" is one of those stories that I nearly laughed outright at the first chapter and found myself more than just a bit relating to the heroine of the novel, Alice Grace.

Alice has her nose stuck in a book and not a single thought planted in reality. She is one of those characters who has so far to grow and to grow up (ha!), but has a voice upon the page that drew me as a reader. And in many ways it was almost uncomfortable the similarities I found in her character and mine. (though I hope I don't view all of life through a novel. ;-)

The novel is more romance than what I have read of Lynn Austin before and doesn't have the deep plots she is known for, but the novel is still enjoyable. There is a complexity to the characters, especially the mountain people with their feuds and struggles.

The "murder" of Mack took several twists, but I'm not quite sure if I'm completely satisfied with the ending of it. I could have missed something along the way, which is tainting my view, but I thought it was closed up a bit too easily.

The close of the novel was completely sweet and wonderful. The journey Alice and Mack make through the story with the other characters give the novel such a mix of personality and made the book an enjoyable read.

This review is my honest opinion. Thanks to the publishers through CFBA for my copy to review.

Wonderland Creek was, quite simply, an absolute delight to read, and I enjoyed every moment that I was immersed in it's pages! Alice Grace Ripley is one of the most wonderful characters I've encountered in some time, primarily because she is a character who simply loves reading, and her quirks and tendencies are so very realistic that they kept me (and my wife) in stitches when we read certain scenes! I felt affinity with her right from the first chapter, where she covertly read a few pages of her book during a funeral because she had to find out what happened next, or when her boyfriend complained about her walking while reading and so walking into a lamp post! Oh, how many times in my past I've done similar things, even trying to drive once while skimming a page (horrendously dangerous I know and not a move I've repeated since).

Alice's adventures in the mountains of Kentucky as a pack horse librarian, taking care of the former slave, Lillie, and helping Mack uncover a mystery were absolutely entertaining to read about, filled with deep, tender moments interspersed with laugh-out-loud scenes. Alice's transformation throughout the story from a person with no gumption to a person confident in who God has made her to be is beautiful to behold. Most of all, I loved the faith that is revealed in the pages of this story, especially the truths uttered by Lillie, her ear attuned to God's Spirit, her prayers filled with faith and fervor. The romance that unfolds is sweet and natural and sure to leave you with a smile on your face.

Lynn Austin is a masterful story teller, and fans of her previous works will completely savor her newest release. I highly recommend this book and give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

If you never read another fiction book, Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin is a piece of fiction that should not be missed. This is by far one of the best books I have read in a long time, and I read a lot of books. If it was possible I would give this book ten stars.

Alice Ripley lives in Illinois with her parents. She works in a library and has a boyfriend who suddenly breaks up with her. She then loses her job at a library because of cutbacks during the Great Depression. Her world falls apart.

Alice always has her nose in a book and this has become her reality, until she decides to travel to Kentucky to deliver five boxes of donated books to the small mining town of Acorn. When she arrives she is taken back in time. There is no running water, no electricity and books are delivered to those who live in the hills by women on horse.

At the beginning of the book, Alice doesn't really know who she is. On the day she leaves for Kentucky her father admonishes her to remember who she is. The answer her father had drummed into her was that she was a child of God and therefore needed to act like one. But when he tells her this on leaving all she can think of is that she used to be able to say that she was Gordon's girlfriend and a librarian at the Blue Island Public Library. Now she can say neither of those things, and wonders who she really is.

Alice at first sees everything through the eyes of the books she's read, but as time goes on she learns to really live, to get to know people, and to care for them in a deeper way, not just talking about what she's read in a book, but wanting to truly know about the lives of the people with whom she comes in contact.

Lillie, a former One hundred year old former slave becomes one of Alice's dearest friends and she learns a lot from this woman, who is nearly eighty years older than her. At one point she tells Alice, "...sometimes when people work for God, they get the idea that He should make their life all smooth and easy because they're doing His work."

Alice retorts that He should.

Lillie says, "It ain't so. Jesus said life is gonna be hard. Period. He said if you're gonna follow Him, then you're gonna carry a cross just like He did. This world of ours is under a curse, honey. We need to expect things to be bad. But even if we lose everything, we still have Jesus."

This is just one of many tidbits of wisdom passed on to Alice by the wizened old woman, who has seen much in her life.

Wonderland Creek is just that, a book filled with the wonder of learning to really live.

I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for this review.

This is one of those books you really don't want to review because you don't want to spoil it for anyone! This is one of a kind for us women who ALWAYS have our nose stuck in books! Lynn Austin grabs your attention and pulls you into her story! You really just need to read this for fun and enjoy a weekend relaxing with coffee!

This book was provided to me from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.

As an avid reader, this book inspired me to take more risks. It's a wonderfully written book with well-developed, lovable characters.

I was left completely wonderstruck. Wonderland Creek is now one of my most favorites books ever!

Alice is a young woman during the depression who eats, sleeps, pretty much lives on and in her books. Alice's world is turned upside down when she loses her dream job as a librarian due to the economic pressures, and to top it all off her funeral director boyfriend dumps her. Alice, in an effort ot get away from her woes, heads to the mountains of Kentucky to deliver boxes of donated books, to a small library. Little does she know that she just might be in for the adventure of her life!

I loved this book from the first line to the last page. It had me glued to the page, savoring every word, and laughing out loud when I found myself relating to Alice in an all-too-scary-way. Yes, Alice was very melodramic, but I loved her for it, and could hardly contain my laughter at some of her humorous musings.

I really loved the Christy-like setting, up in the mountains without the modern inconveniences like electricity, and running water, where you're more likely to meet a person's shotgun before you actually meet the person.

Leslie or "Mack" was in my mind the perfect hero, perfect in that he was not perfect enough to be perfect, which just ended up making him perfect! Now if you're still with me after that baffling chain of thoughts...OK! I love his sense of duty and his commitment to making things right. I could go on and on about Mack but for your sakes, I won't ;)

I think that nearly every character had a place in my heart by the time I turned the last page, I especially loved Miss Lillie. What a woman, indeed!

This book had everything. Excellent characters, a killer plot, sweet romance, a rediscovery of lax faith, a mystery that keeps you on your toes, evil villians, beautiful setting, and lots of books! I couldn't have asked for a better story. It completely blew me away! Especailly the suspense of trying to figure out who was behind everything and why. Oh, and did I mention buried treasure? Wonderland Creek has that too!

If you are anything like me, this is a must-read! I HIGHLY recommend this book. It is now pretty much my number one favorite book :D Thank you for listening to my somewhat overlong ravings, I'm going to go out a buy this book as soon as I can :)

Final Rating: 5.6 out of 5!!!!!

I checked out this book at my local library and reviewed it just because I loved it so much :)

Lynn Austin is one of my go-to authors. Her stories and characters are always fresh and interesting and transport me to another time in history. Wonderland Creek is no exception. I enjoyed the first person narrative and experiencing the story through the eyes of the main character "Allie". I loved the twists and turns and how Allie was propelled to do things she wouldn't ever choose to do on her own accord. This is also a simple lesson on how to be used by God more effectively. We must "go forth" and see and trust where God leads. I absolutely adored Lille's character and how she often coerced Allie into fascinating and adverturesome situations! The Depression era Kentuky setting, the pack horse librarians, and the intrigue and romance all pulled me in from the first page. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

This is a book about finding your purpose in life. Self-centered librarian Alice Grace lives in Illinois, she always has her nose in a book and lives in a dreamland and often misses what is going on in her "real " life when she looses her job she needs to find a purpose and something to do she delivers a donation of books to a deprived town in Kentucky, Acron . Once in Acorn , Alice gets a taste of reality and soon learns that she was indeed caught up in the book world and had no idea what living was. She has real life adventures and problem solving.

I really enjoyed this book, I had trouble putting it down at night and found myself totally wrapped up in the story. It sometimes seemed that it was a little over the top.But all in all it was a good time, laugh a little book.

I love all of Lynn Austin's books, but this was one of my favorites! I couldn't put it down. I loved seeing Alice grow stronger each day with every new adventure that she was thrust into by others. Wonderful book!

When I first received this book to review it sat on the shelf for a while! I'm afraid I'm one of those people who does judge a book by it's cover and this book looked rather boring. I even read the first chapter and put it aside in favor of another book for a while. I couldn't have been more wrong. Alice definitely needed her world to be 'shaken up', she lived in a world of books and while there's nothing wrong with that! ; ) she had lost touch with the real world and was rather immature and self-centered. The story really picks up in the third chapter when her Aunt and Uncle drop her off at a library in the middle of what appears to be a deserted town. I won't spoil any of the rest of the story but I didn't want to put the book down. Learning that the book was based on historical events was fascinating and an added bonus. I highly recommend this book!