A Claim of Her Own

I highly recommend A Claim of Her Own. This book is at the top of my 2009 reads. A Claim of Her Own claimed my heart from the very first sentence of the book! Stephanie Grace Whitson takes you along for the adventure. She makes you feel like you are right there with all the characters. I could see everything she describes through Mattie's eyes. Mattie learns that being rich with money doesn't mean a thing if your heart isn't rich with the Lord. I loved her determination and strive it takes to work a gold claim. That speaks loud and clear that women can do things that men do if they really try. All of the characters are so real and full of life. I loved Swede the best. She also does a man job. She learns that beauty really is skin deep and that love comes to all even when we aren't seeking it.

Set in the gold mining town of Deadwood, South Dakota, A Claim of Her Own is the tale of Mattie O'Keefe's attempts to start a respectable life of her own. Escaping from a controlling and cheating saloon owner, Mattie sets out to find her brother and his claim in Deadwood. When Mattie arrives in Deadwood, it is only to find her brother dead, and the claim is hers, to sell or keep. Despite the odds, Mattie chooses to stay and work the claim herself instead of selling it. She set out to hide from her past, but instead she finds herself making friends and finding a family in the most unlikely of all places. Her claim is paying well, and her new life is going well, until someone from her past rides into town. While Mattie wrestles with learning how to pan for gold, she also must face her mistrust of religion and preachers. The street preacher in Deadwood isn't like the preachers who stumbled into her saloon in the past, but she still doesn't trust him. As she learns to trust Aron, she also begins to unravel her own doubts about God. A Claim Of Her Own is a captivating story, whose characters become real as the story unfolds. I enjoyed the book, with its unique location and plot. It was the first Christian fiction book I've ever read set in a mining town in the Old West. Full of unexpected twists and a climactic ending, I highly recommend Stephanie Grace Whitson's A Claim Of Her Own.

I thoroughly enjoyed the latest novel from Stephanie Grace Whitson. Mattie O'Keefe is an intriguing personality from many of the fiction novels currently on my bookshelf in that, while she is spunky and full of sass, she also has a bitter edge to her attitude that is intriguingly endearing. Whitson does a remarkable job of creating characteristics in her main character that in real life can be irritating, but in this novel, create a desire to know Mattie deeper and understand what caused the bitter edge and to find out how will the Lord step in and heal. Each additional character is equally as endearing, with my favorite by far being Freddie!! His desire to protect Mattie in his simple ways made me almost more excited to read his scenes that that of the main plot!! While the novel includes all the elements we love in historical fiction, a twist, a villain, romance, and a hero, it also provides a deep Spiritual application without being "preachy". I also loved the rich mining history included in the novel that showed this author did some MAJOR research!! Definitely worth purchasing and adding to your favorites collection!!

Stephanie Grace Whitson has once again written a great historical Christian fiction novel full of vibrant characters. The main protagonist is a beauty who feels very out of place upon her arrival in Deadwood, South Dakota. There are no ladies in the gold mining settlement ... oh, there are "women" - just no ladies. And for good reason. Main street is barely more than a series of canvas tents with roughly made signs. There is no such thing as the comforts of home in Deadwood and paper money is worth nothing. Everything you could ever want (ie drink, gambling, women) is available for just a pinch of gold dust ... If you love strong female characters you'll love Mattie. She may look like a dainty thing, but she has a few secrets and one of them is that she doesn't just carry a gun - she knows how to use it! Her adventures becoming "Matt the miner" in this book make for a quick read. I frankly had trouble putting it down. Mattie is on the run from her past when she reaches Deadwood - and a big chunk of her past is a very well cast antagonist that you just love to hate. I kept reading - just willing something bad to happen to him. Additionally, the Christian themes in the book are very well presented. I've read a lot of Christian fiction that has seemed either "preachy" or as if it was forced into the plot as an after thought. Learning to trust in God, even when it seems impossible to trust anyone ... well, you'll have to read it yourself to see just how well author Stephanie Grace Whitson has woven that into her story line. If you love the historical Christian fiction genre, you'll love "A Claim of Her Own".

I really enjoyed this book, from the first page to the last, I had to keep reading. It was so hard to put it down. The characters were well formed and I found myself in the Black Hills and in the dirty streets of Deadwood. I found myself feeling the emotions of the characters, just like if I were them. Stephanie Grace Whitson did a great job in making the reader feel like they are right there in the town from the stench of the streets to back breaking work of mining - the reader feels like they are there right beside them. A great book and real page turner.