Nothing was holding her back. Her marriage to Blaine was still a ways off into the future and the chance to become matron of the Raystown Home for Orphan and Friendless Children would be a dream come true for Sadie Sillsby.
Sadie knew what it was like to be rejected by a mother; she grew up in the orphanage. To do for the children what her benefactors did for her would give her great satisfaction. And not only that but surely it is God’s will. Yet Blaine persists – choose the orphanage or choose him. With a heavy heart Sadie chooses the orphanage. The paths of the childhood friends takes two different directions as each individual stubbornly pursues their respective plans. But not all is well. Sadie finds much hardship in running the orphanage. With a flighty flirt for an assistant and herself with no head for numbers it’s all Sadie can do to keep the place afloat for a short length of time. With her world falling apart around her Sadie must reconsider what she thinks is the will of God and what truly is.
In a story that reminded me of The Gift of the Magi, Anne Mateer has crafted a tale not soon to be forgotten. Set in the Edwardian Era A Home for My Heart offers a different look at a time period that draws a growing “audience”; readers won’t find the opulence and fluff we have seen marketed at consumers as of late – instead Ms. Mateer touches on the downtrodden and the issues of keeping an orphanage afloat in another world (let’s face it – 1910 was still two years away from Oreos so it was most definitely another world). Sadie is a flawed character trying to lead a life she thinks is the right thing to do. Her struggles play out allowing readers to see her mature and realize her faults. Her struggles could easily be that of a modern-day person’s and struck me as being very realistic. Moral: In the end we don’t get all that we wanted and things may not happen the way we hoped/wished but it can work out for the best.
I have a soft spot for stories told from the first person point-of-view. My opinion is a first person narrative is either very good or very bad. And this was very good. At times I find a first person book is unbalanced – the main character does so much explaining and brainstorming that interaction with other characters suffer. Not so here. A Home for My Heart is a job well done and I look forward to reading other stories by Anne Mateer.
DISCLAIMER: In accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising” we would like to note that we have not received compensation for our book review of “A Home for Me Heart”.
Reet Champion Book Reviews 