Journey to Love: Marie's Journey, 1901
Orphan Journeys
written by Amanda Tero
140 pages // published in 2016 // tween fiction
My Review...
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Now orphaned, Marie is swept miles away from the only life she knew to be sheltered by unknown guardians. Caught in the challenges of a new life, she cannot prevent changes from happening, but she can keep the Bowles and their friends at arm's length. Or can she?
While things appear to transition smoothly on the outside, Marie struggles against the turmoil she faces on the inside. She sees something in the Bowles and her new friends that she had never experienced before...but should she trust what the preacher is teaching when it goes against everything she had accepted as truth? Is God really a God of love? If He is, then is Marie willing to accept it?
Follow Marie as she begins the journey to love.
Now orphaned, Marie is swept miles away from the only life she knew to be sheltered by unknown guardians. Caught in the challenges of a new life, she cannot prevent changes from happening, but she can keep the Bowles and their friends at arm's length. Or can she?
While things appear to transition smoothly on the outside, Marie struggles against the turmoil she faces on the inside. She sees something in the Bowles and her new friends that she had never experienced before...but should she trust what the preacher is teaching when it goes against everything she had accepted as truth? Is God really a God of love? If He is, then is Marie willing to accept it?
Follow Marie as she begins the journey to love.
For fans of Christian fiction, Journey to Love is a brand new story that you'll want to read. Written especially for kids, teens, and families to enjoy.
Ever since middle school when I read a few books on the topic, I've held a particular interest for the Orphan Trains that traversed America a century ago. These charity-funded train programs gave hope of providing orphans (or abandoned or homeless children) with better opportunities in life and finding families to call their own. Journey to Love takes place in 1901 (during one of my favorite historical time periods!). All this is to say that I was super excited to read a new fictional book on the topic... And my interest in the book doubled with it being written by an author that I've heard much about in my online circles! Amanda Tero certainly met my expectations with her new publication (this being the first I've read of her books). She is an excellent writer and I am personally inspired by her desire to share faith-based tales, so young in life.
"'But the fruit of the Spirit is love...' It makes sense that the first is love, because God is love. The second is joy. Once we have God's love in our hearts, then He gives us joy. And because God loves us, He gives us peace. So the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace. And after that, the rest of the verse just came."
-Amanda Tero, Journey to Love
I like the message of faith and hope that shines through. In the story, twelve-year-old Marie experiences Jesus' love and grace like no other time in her life; it's an eye-opening experience for Marie, and hopefully for the reader as well. It shows that what most of the children on Orphan Trains went through wasn't just a geographical journey, but a spiritual one as well. The overall story is a quaint and sweet one, reflecting the simplicity of life of the Midwest farmers at the turn of the 20th century. Marie learns a great deal about people who may be different than her and how God can change her life, if she lets Him in.-Amanda Tero, Journey to Love
I would recommend this as being perfect for your 9 to 13-year-olds to read, or it would make a great read-aloud story as a family.
I'm looking forward to reading more of Miss Tero's Orphan Journeys series!
Journey to Love is available on Amazon in e-book format.
About the Orphan Journeys Series
Imagine yourself as an orphan, struggling for survival on the filthy New York streets, where disease and crime run rampant. Journey from these wretched streets to a temporary lodging in an overcrowded orphanage and then to the train station. After riding the train for hours, picture yourself lining up with other children, waiting as adults look you over. Would you be chosen—or would you have to hold onto the hope that maybe, at the next station, someone would want to bring you home?
Minister Charles Loring Brace had a vision for New York orphans that brought them through this journey from streets to homes. He began his orphan work in 1853, then in 1854, because of lack of orphanage space, Brace sent the first orphans by train to Dowagiac, Michigan, where the children could be sheltered by local families. The "orphan train" continued until 1929, bringing at least 150,000 children to new homes where they were fostered and, occasionally, adopted.
Brace desired to place children in good, Protestant homes. Many orphans experienced Brace's desire, but some orphans had different stories: siblings were separated, and some couples took orphans to use for cheap labor. Though many orphans ended up as successful men and women, not all of them turned out to be trustworthy citizens.
Orphan Journeys is a fictional novella series based off of the American Orphan Train saga, following orphans not only as they adjust to a new life, but also as they embark upon a spiritual journey.
Imagine yourself as an orphan, struggling for survival on the filthy New York streets, where disease and crime run rampant. Journey from these wretched streets to a temporary lodging in an overcrowded orphanage and then to the train station. After riding the train for hours, picture yourself lining up with other children, waiting as adults look you over. Would you be chosen—or would you have to hold onto the hope that maybe, at the next station, someone would want to bring you home?
Minister Charles Loring Brace had a vision for New York orphans that brought them through this journey from streets to homes. He began his orphan work in 1853, then in 1854, because of lack of orphanage space, Brace sent the first orphans by train to Dowagiac, Michigan, where the children could be sheltered by local families. The "orphan train" continued until 1929, bringing at least 150,000 children to new homes where they were fostered and, occasionally, adopted.
Brace desired to place children in good, Protestant homes. Many orphans experienced Brace's desire, but some orphans had different stories: siblings were separated, and some couples took orphans to use for cheap labor. Though many orphans ended up as successful men and women, not all of them turned out to be trustworthy citizens.
Orphan Journeys is a fictional novella series based off of the American Orphan Train saga, following orphans not only as they adjust to a new life, but also as they embark upon a spiritual journey.
Enter to win one of 3 paperback copies of "Journey to Love"!!
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About the AuthorAmanda Tero is a homeschool graduate who desires to provide God-honoring, family-friendly reading material. She has enjoyed writing since before ten years old, but it has only been since 2013 that she began seriously pursuing writing again – starting with some short stories that she wrote for her sisters as a gift. Her mom encouraged her to try selling the stories she published, and since then, she has begun actively writing short stories, novellas, and novels. If something she has written draws an individual into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ, it is worth it!
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)
Connect with Amanda!
Website: http://amandatero.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/amandaterobooks
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandateroauthor/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/truthpicsart/
Blog: www.withajoyfulnoise.blogspot.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/AmandaTero
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/amandatero
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Thank you very much for having me be a part of your blog tour, Tarissa! And thank you for such a sweet review! :) It blessed my day!
ReplyDeleteSounds like such a great story of hope! Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to see more homeschoolers writing. I look forward to seeing if my almost sixteen year old daughter enjoys some of your stories. Like you, she has become a picky reader. Congratulations on your new book, and I hope it does well.
ReplyDelete