Alice Hegan Rice (1870–1942)

Quinby Graham is recuperating from injuries sustained during the Great War (World War I to us, of course) at a hospital in Kentucky (it's Louisville, though it's never actually specified). While on the path to recovery, he meets Eleanor Bartlett, and instantly falls head over heels in love with her. He makes her the guiding light of all his future aspirations. She's socially a bit above him, so he sets out to win over her entire family and also better himself in hopes of winning her love.

I liked a lot of things in this book, but the love story wasn't one of them. Eleanor's main qualities seem to be spunkiness, naivete, and beauty... a bit of a thin basis for undying love. IMO. However... Quinby himself I liked. He pitches in and makes himself indispensable to her prickly but sad aunts and ruler-of-the-roost grandmother. He is so straightforward and undisguised that he disarms them all. And also helps several in the family to find the things that they've really wanted to do all along but have been too scared to attempt, whether it's getting married, buying a farm, or nursing at a hospital. He "handles" everyone, but with such honest good nature no one can mind.

Also, the writing was pretty good and there were several fantastic passages that I'll be sharing from my Kindle highlights. I didn't completely love the book, but it did have its pleasant surprises.… (more)

This book was written to be read to a child and it achieves that objective very, very well. The book does not varnish over the hardships of poverty, yet it does not turn dark because it is a child's book. I was surprised that Alice Rice allowed a key character to die so early in the book, but that brought the realism of the despair of the family to the young listeners. The author showed brilliant strokes of imagination: geographical names for children, the characteristics of the neighbors, the actions of the family. Yes, the book does end on a rosy note, but that's how a child's book should end.

I gave 3 1/2 stars since this is a good book, one that I would recommend but not one that I would read again any time soon.… (more)