Julie

There is nothing better for a reader than to feel like they have been swept into a time period and experience exactly what the characters are facing. This book has all the markings of an epic adventure that is captured by pure talent and focused details. I loved every minute I spent reading this wonderful story. I was transported back to 1935 and met a young woman so full of life, that I wanted to be friends with her. Julie is the heart beat of this story and will forever have a place of prominence in my heart of the true meaning of faith and perseverance.

I admired her for so many reasons. Her desire to be a journalist was so inspiring it reminds us to never give up on our dreams. I loved how she helped her dad at the newspaper doing show more whatever he asked her to do. Times were hard for the people in the town Julie's family moved to. There wasn't much money to survive on but the family never complained. I loved the compassion that was showed by several characters toward the needy and despondent families.

What really intrigued me was the vivid description of the steel mill. The employees worked long hours with little pay and Julie became interested in the inner workings of a huge company like the mill. I know the employees were mistreated but they had little power to do anything until talks of a union started spreading. I could see the groups gathering and agreeing that it was time to speak up.

This all leads up to a story that kept me glued to the pages as I read as fast as I could. It was no surprise that management wasn't happy with the newspaper when it seemed they were on the the opposite side of the owners. Danger lurks for Julie and her family as feathers get ruffled in the uproar of union talks. As this is going on, I could feel the tension build and knew something big was about to happen. I don't want to ruin the story for anyone, so I will say that the tragedy that happens will tear families apart, weave a destructive path to the town and forever change the lives of Alderton. The author captures the terror and pain with compassion and brought tears to my eyes as the event unfolded. It is evident that the author did much research to add to the historical value of the story and it heightened the book with precise information.

There is so much in this book that will have readers thinking and examining themselves. Are we still showing prejudice to others? Do we willingly lend a hand to our neighbors? Will we stand up for our beliefs no matter what? Thank you for writing a book that reminds us "to love one another as Christ loves the church."

I received a copy of this book from JustRead Publicity Tours. The review is my own opinion. show less

Senior year of high school, Julie's family uproots and moves to a new town, where her father has just invested their entire savings into a floundering newspaper. Town tensions are high between the "lowlanders" and the industrial big-wigs, with unionization threats, demanding better working conditions and higher wages in the slum-like steel mill workers. On top of it all, the dam holding back the man made lake above the town, threatens to spill it's banks.

In all of this, Julie is just a girl with high ideals, struggling with the changes, and writing in her journal. Since you're reading from her perspective, you get to observe her thoughts on everything from the eligible bachelors in town to her desire to write and expose the truth. She's show more naive, a troublemaker, and above all, extremely relate-able.

She and others in this book also struggle with many questions about God--how God allows bad things to happen to good people; how to have a personal relationship with God; what Christians are called to do about evil in the world. The young pastor in town represents the ideaology of the Social Gospel movement, which preached doing the works of Christ almost to the point where some believed that was entirely the way of salvation. Mr. Wallace (Julie's father) and Dean (a local Steel worker) balance out that way of thinking, showing that with a true relationship with God, He will call you to many ways of ministry. This depiction of inner-questioning in the book was extremely enlightening and leads readers in a way that is neither preachy nor didactic.

The story picks up slowly, and is the most interesting in the last two-thirds of the book, but the first part is essential for establishing the Wallace family background and that of the town. If you get stuck, push through, because this book is definitely worth reading.

In addition to everything happening with Julie's career as a newspaper journalist, the book also focuses on her potential suitors, at least four serious ones! Man, if only I was that popular in high school. Julie takes casual dating lightly, and declines most boys' offers to drive her up to Lookout Point for some "necking". Julie is a proper young girl but genuinely feels her human desires and there are a few kissing scenes that are quite intense. There are also several instances of bad language, but it is treated in a good way. Because of that and other factors, I would recommend this book to a Young Adult to Adult audience. show less

Senior year of high school, Julie's family uproots and moves to a new town, where her father has just invested their entire savings into a floundering newspaper. Town tensions are high between the "lowlanders" and the industrial big-wigs, with unionization threats, demanding better working conditions and higher wages in the slum-like steel mill workers. On top of it all, the dam holding back the man made lake above the town, threatens to spill it's banks.

In all of this, Julie is just a girl with high ideals, struggling with the changes, and writing in her journal. Since you're reading from her perspective, you get to observe her thoughts on everything from the eligible bachelors in town to her desire to write and expose the truth. She's show more naive, a troublemaker, and above all, extremely relate-able.

She and others in this book also struggle with many questions about God--how God allows bad things to happen to good people; how to have a personal relationship with God; what Christians are called to do about evil in the world. The young pastor in town represents the ideaology of the Social Gospel movement, which preached doing the works of Christ almost to the point where some believed that was entirely the way of salvation. Mr. Wallace (Julie's father) and Dean (a local Steel worker) balance out that way of thinking, showing that with a true relationship with God, He will call you to many ways of ministry. This depiction of inner-questioning in the book was extremely enlightening and leads readers in a way that is neither preachy nor didactic.

The story picks up slowly, and is the most interesting in the last two-thirds of the book, but the first part is essential for establishing the Wallace family background and that of the town. If you get stuck, push through, because this book is definitely worth reading.

In addition to everything happening with Julie's career as a newspaper journalist, the book also focuses on her potential suitors, at least four serious ones! Man, if only I was that popular in high school. Julie takes casual dating lightly, and declines most boys' offers to drive her up to Lookout Point for some "necking". Julie is a proper young girl but genuinely feels her human desires and there are a few kissing scenes that are quite intense. There are also several instances of bad language, but it is treated in a good way. Because of that and other factors, I would recommend this book to a Young Adult to Adult audience. show less

From the author of the beloved Christy, Julie explores the Great-Depression era, a flood-prone Pennsylvania town, and a struggling newspaper through the lense of an eighteen-year-old, spirited woman. In some ways, Julie’s story reflects Catherine Marshall’s own experiences, and I found it all, from start to finish, fascinating (even if the waffling between men became a bit tedious). It’s a story of family and faith, social justice and uncertainty, and it’s entirely lovely. I enjoyed reading it and look forward to revisiting it in the years to come. With a beautiful new cover for the re-released edition, Julie is a novel not to miss. I highly recommend it.

Thanks to JustRead Tours, I received a complimentary copy of Julie and the show more opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own. show less

I recently read Marshall's Christy book for the first time, and enjoyed it immensely. (I now understand why -- spoiler alert! -- Christy and Dr. MacNeill married! I'd long been a fan of the TV series' David Grantland, but after reading the book -- MacNeill fangirl all the way.) So when the opportunity arose to read Julie, my excitement definitely increased. More Catherine Marshall? (And, frankly, a deadline to do so?) Yes, please!

I absolutely adored Julie -- even more than Christy. I grew up reading everything I could get my hands on, and writing stories like nobody's business! To this day I love stories about journalists and writers of any kind, and she certainly fit that bill. That made it very easy to relate to Julie as a character; show more I found her likable and endearing, and saw a fair bit of myself in her. Her story brought back many memories of editing and writing for school papers (and even the Everett Herald at one point)!

This book definitely kept me up several nights in a row until I finished it. I look forward to re-reading it in years to come. show less

Oh, how I loved reading this book and walking in Julie Paige’s shoes, and what a kind, loving young woman the author has given us.
I have long been an admirer of Catherine Marshall, starting back as a teen when I read “A Man Called Peter”.
The author makes you feel for the injustice of big business, and the “I don’t care attitude”, and then then the bullying, all because you have concerns and disagree.
Warning once you start this you won’t be able to put it down, and have the tissues handy, there are some really sad parts, but you won’t regret reading this one.
I received this book through Just Read and the Publisher Evergreen Farm, and was not required to give a positive review.

This is the story of 17-year-old Julie Wallace and her family who live in the United States in the late 1920s. Julie’s father Ken takes up the post of editor on a small newspaper, The Sentinel. He has invested almost all his savings in the paper, and the family struggle to make ends meet. Julie is a free-thinking and confident young woman in her last year at high school. She has ambitions to be a writer.

There are lots of characters in the book and I found it a bit confusing at times, trying to remember who was whom, although I managed to keep track of the most important ones. Julie, who narrates the story, is very believable and three-dimensional, perhaps because her personality and some of her experiences are based from the show more author’s own background, although the story itself is fictional, albeit based in the Depression era, and focussing on some important historical topics.

It’s a Christian book but without being preachy or mushy. There’s a a good vs evil theme, which shows as a clash of morality vs ambitious greed; some of the wealthy and ambitious people are unpleasant in a way that seems scarcely credible at times.

The earlier parts of the book foreshadow a terrible tragedy that takes place in the final chapters, providing high drama and heartbreak. I found it quite difficult to put down toward the end, although in the early pages the writing was a bit long-winded, even ponderous at a times.

All in all, I enjoyed it. show less