Maggie Rose

Warning: Start reading Maggie Rose at seven o'clock p.m. only if you want to stay up very late. Sharlene MacLaren has written another page-turner you cannot put down. This is the second book in the Daughters of Jacob Kane series, just as fascinating as the first, Hannah Grace. Maggie Rose , the spunky, friendly, twenty-year-old middle daughter, feels called to missions work, primarily to Sheltering Arms Refuge in New York City. She leaves the security of her family home in Michigan to minister to homeless children, each with his/her own pitiful story. Maggie Rose falls in love with the newspaper reporter who moves into Sheltering Arms to do hands-on research for an article. Luke is recovering from a tragedy where his fiancé and his aunt were killed. Can he find God in all of this? Maggie Rose and Luke work side-by-side, ministering to the orphans, as well as accompanying them on "orphan trains" to their new homes in the Midwest. MacLaren includes fascinating information about this little-known era and the orphans, in an uplifting, positive way. She weaves a fascinating story of how a young woman can maintain her focus on God and remain attuned to His guidance. Teenagers as well as adults will not be able to put this book down. Abbie Ann, third book in the series, is scheduled to appear in Spring 2010. I'm already curious about Abbie Ann because I've followed her growth and development through the previous books. Review by Audrey Hebbert, M.A., Omaha, Nebraska, author of Green Light Red Light

When we open up the cover of our latest romance novel, we expect to be drawn into a love story. We hope for our own hearts to yearn and hope for the happy ending that usually awaits at the end of whatever trials the characters must endure. With inspirational romance, we even come to expect some kind of growth in the characters. The very best authors may even challenge us as we read to look at our own lives and how the lesson apply to ourselves. What Sharlene MacLaren has done with Maggie Rose goes above and beyond all those things. She picks out a story of the least of these and makes them shine like emeralds. The stories of the orphans and poor of that period aren't new to us, nor are they absent today. This story weaves theirs into the plot so smoothly that you cannot tell what the main story is. Whether her true purpose was to grab our hearts with the redemptive love of a man and woman, or with the endearing characters of children who had no hope without the men and women who volunteered and showed them compassion, self-worth, and God's love ~it all blends seamlessly. It is a tale masterfully woven. Everything sings about this latest book. The cover art is gorgeous, the writing is descriptive, and the plot is exciting and tension filled.

Sharlene has the nack for writing a GREAT story! And Maggie Rose is no different. Maggie's story will intrigue you from page one all the way to the end. You'll laugh at her refusal to recognize she can't sing. You'll cry with her as she hears the stories of the little orphans in her care. And you'll cheer her on as she falls in love. This book is a must read. Pick it up. You'll be glad you did! :)

I eagerly waited for this book to come out since I enjoyed the first one so much. I was not disappointed. I loved the story line; the author used a real problem for the historical period rather than trying to use a more modern cultural problem to tell her story. Maggie Rose is both believable and likable as a heroine. My favorite part is that she cannot sing (I can identify) but she refuses to believe she is as bad as she is. I also loved the redemptive storyline where people learn that they can be forgiven if they want to be. I fell in love with the orphans; in fact I thought several of them would make good stories for the future. It would be neat to follow the lives of some of the orphans I learned to like. I would especially like to find out what happens to Millie, the child that could not be adopted because of her skin color. It would be interesting to see what the author did with that although I am sure she is up to the task. I am not eagerly awaiting the third book in the series. I will also continue to follow this author.

REVIEWED BY SHIRLEY CRANSTONE (CHARLESTON, WV), JULY 16, 2009 (I HAVE POSTED THIS REVIEW ON BEHALF OF SHIRLEY CRANSTONE.) In 1904, mission-minded Maggie Rose leaves the comforts of her West Michigan home and family to take a job at a New York City orphanage, Sheltering Arms Refuge. Here, she gets a dose of "real life" with the influx of homeless urchins into the orphanage, some abused and neglected by alcoholic parents, some orphaned, others simply put out on the streets by penniless, often disease-ridden parents, immigrants who find themselves forced into dirty streets, too impoverished to tend to their families. Not only will Maggie assist in the "placing out" process, finding homes for these children via the "Orphan Trains" that operated from the mid-1800s through 1929, she will also discover unexpected love in a hardnosed newspaper reporter, a man carrying a load of bitterness over the loss of his beloved fiancee to a true life, disastrous paddle-boat fire in the East River. This is a story rife with heartrending emotion, drama, character conflict, hope and healing. As in all of MacLaren's page-turning novels, readers will discover God's love and power amidst heartache and learn that through trusting Christ, JOY truly can abound. ABSOLUTELY WORTH THE READ!