Good Hope Road

I loved this book. I didn't want to stop reading. I just wanted to know what was going to happen. I love the way Lisa Wingate writes. This is a good series, but this was my favorite book.

After reading Ms. Wingate's two romances, I picked up Good Hope Road. Surprised it wasn't a romance, I almost tossed it, but the writing was so beautiful, I couldn't. This was a wonderful tale of reconciliation and survival populated with marvelous character that give real hope.

"On the afternoon of July 29, the entire town of Poetry, Missouri, was cast to the wind." Everything in the town is blown away, except for the Armory, where people gather for support, to grieve, to lend a hand, to reconnect...and the Lane homestead...where the poor, reclusive, suspicious Lane family has lived for generations. Jennilee Lane is home alone when the tornado strikes. When she realizes what's happened, she sees that the neighboring farm has been leveled , the stand of pecan trees splintered and shattered, and she heads that way, to see if anyone has survived. She hears voices coming from the storm cellar and ends up rescuing Mrs. Gibson and her grandchild. What happens over the next few days, as told by Jenilee and Eudora Gibson, comes together as a warm, touching story that makes one realize "faith" can be described and lived in different ways. In addition to helping nurse the injured, Jennilee collects debris left behind in the storm...photographs, newspaper articles, love letters...the treasures that had been long stored in the houses that no longer remain. She tacks them to the wall of the armory and people search the display for parts of their past. One woman, a visitor who had been staying in a nearby campground, finds a photo of her baby...a baby that is missing in the aftermath of the storm. The photo greatly aids in the authority's search for the child.. I recently read a newspaper article about a series of tornados that set down in Wisconsin. "The storm was so strong, roof shingles, papers and other debris were found in the Milwaukee area, 60 miles away." This is something I'd never thought of before reading Wingate's book...pieces of people's lives, dropping from the sky. For anyone who enjoys a rich, textured, story of regular people...their strengths, weaknesses, joys, troubles...this story is a must read. As a bonus, a few characters from Wingate's "Tending Roses" show up, as well...Kate, Ben and Joshua. As it turns out, Kate's grandmother was Jenilee's grandmother's sister. It was nice to visit with them for a while...as I enjoyed their story in "Tending Roses". There's a quote from another of my favorite authors, Adriana Trigiani, on the cover: "Good Hope Road is a novel bursting with joy amidst crisis." In Jennilee Lane and Eudora Gibson...and all the other Poetry neighbors...Lisa Wingate has created honest, believable characters...characters who I enjoyed reading about, characters I cared about, characters who could be living down the road. This book comes highly recommended!

This is the 2nd in a great series to read. You may not see the connection until you read book 3, but still read them in order. (Tending Roses and Language of Sycamores.) These books are a about family and the relationships between the different people in a family and how we interact with one another. I found I laughed and cried with them. I couldn't put the book down because I became involved with their lives and wanted to see what happened next. They are books that you can read more than once because there is so much there.

I just love Lisa Wingate's writing style. She writes as if she's sitting down at a table in an old farmhouse kitchen, writing as if she's going to write a letter just to you. She is very inspirational and very thoughtful. She writes as if she knows her neighbors even if they're down the road quite a ways away. She writes about human nature and how we all struggle to be good. She writes beautifully that makes you stop and think for a moment ~~ yeah, I know exactly what she's talking about. This one is a relationship between two neighbors. There is Jenilee ~~ one of those "no-good white trash Lanes" that live next door to Euradora Gibson, who used to be best friends with Jenilee's grandma. Jenilee is one of the forgotten children. Born to an abusive father and a sick mother who eventually died of cancer, Jenilee barely scraped by in school, taking care of her mom, her brothers and her dad. Euradora is an elderly woman with lots of regrets in her life. She didn't realize just how bitter she has become till a tornado ripped apart her house. Jenilee rescued her and together, they set off on a journey that leads to many open doors to the future and to many door-shuttings of the past. It is beautifully written. A must-read for all mothers and daughters, sisters and friends. It's lovely, inspirational and thoughtful. Wingate writes of true things that happens to all of us ~~ in each of us is a lonely, forgotten "Jennilee" or an unhappy "Euradora". I wouldn't hesitate reading any of Wingate's books. We need more writers like her around! 11-24-04

In and around the town of Poetry, Missouri, a sudden string of tornadoes have done a great deal of damage. Jenilee Lane ("white trash") and Eudora Gibson ("garden society") find themselves literally thrown together as a result. Though they've been neighbors for many years, the two would normally not be seen in each other's company -- would probably have never spoken to each other again, if not for the unusual circumstances caused by the tornado. Through alternating chapters, these two women reveal what they're seeing and feeling. Their stories and those of the other residents of Poetry make for fascinating reading. The setting and the characters are so real that you feel as though you could drive down the road and find them all in the next town. Lisa Wingate is indeed a gifted writer. _Good Hope Road_ is the best mainstream novel I've read in years.