When Breaks the Dawn

"The city had changed much since then, but I had changed more. The young, stylish schoolteacher from the East no longer existed. In her place was an older, wiser and, I hoped, more sensitive woman."

Elizabeth and her Canadian Mountie husband, Wynn, are nearing their first wedding anniversary. They've been making a life for themselves at Beaver River, a village in the far Northwest, but they'll face a devastating disappointment in When Breaks the Dawn by author Janette Oke.

This novel felt like classic Janette Oke to me: homey but challenging frontier life, simply depicted. I've respect for Elizabeth's approach to the new teaching position (and even the motherly role) she gets to fill. Although she strives to educate and nurture the native show more children in her charge, she's not out to "make them white," so to speak, but instead she seeks to understand the village people's culture more.

Some of my favorite parts are when Elizabeth looks outside of herself and empathizes with other people's concerns, particularly her husband's. As with the previous novels in the series, I still feel that Elizabeth cries too often for her tears to stay interesting, but she's not a weak heroine. I got to realize right along with her how much she's changed, and following the course and distinct shift of her homesickness may be what I liked best about this read.

My enjoyable mission to finish the Canadian West series continues. On to Book Four. show less

The third book in the "Canadian West" series, about a young woman from Toronto who goes west to teach, meets and marries a Mountie, and learns to live in the primitive North and love the people there. Again, these books present the gospel and Christian living clearly and naturally in the course of conversations, the characters are realistic and honorable, and the stories are satisfying. I enjoyed the narrator of the audiobooks.

Having survived the harshness of their first year in the far Northwest, Elizabeth and Wynn, her Royal Canadian Mountie, now face new challenges. Just when they've made new friends and started a new school, they are presented with a new posting. It seems Elizabeth's dreams for a family and home of her own are not to be. Will their love for each other, hope for the future, and their faith in God carry them through the crushing disappointments?

This book (3rd in the series) picks up literally the same day that book 2 finishes. I am enjoying reading this series, but liked books 1 & 2 better than 3. It continues the story of Elizabeth and Wynn facing hardships, but enduring. Elizabeth is able to start a school, begins to deepen her friendships and get to know the people better, but struggles with their inability to have children. Then Wynn is presented with a new posting at another village. Can God carry them through their deep struggles?
I think the story of this book can be summarized very well by a few sentences taken from the author in this book. Elizabeth's thoughts: "I knew that in orer to have peace with God one must meet His conditions. The first thing I had to do was to show more confess my sin. In this case it was my bitterness and resentment. I was angry with God. . . "
"What I did know was that God was in charge of my life. He was my sovereign God. He knew what was good for me, and I needed to understand that in His great love for me, He would comfort and sustain me. . . . " show less

I appreciate the manner in which Oke works her knowledge of the Bible into her books.

In When Breaks the Dawn, the third of Janette Oke's Canadian West series, Elizabeth and Wynn survive the first year in the harsh far Northwest in which they make new friends, start a new school, and presented with a new posting. “Will their love for each other, hope for the future and their faith in God carry them through a crushing disappointment?”

A heart breaking story of the trials of Elizabeth. Not something for Hallmark.