Annie's Stories

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Annie's Stories
Cindy Thomson
Tyndale

The year is 1901, the literary sensation The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is taking New York City by storm, and everyone wonders where the next great book will come from. But to Annie Gallagher, stories are more than entertainment—they’re a sweet reminder of her storyteller father. After his death, Annie fled Ireland for the land of dreams, finding work at Hawkins House.
But when a fellow boarder with something to hide is accused of misconduct and authorities threaten to shut down the boardinghouse, Annie fears she may lose her new friends, her housekeeping job . . . and her means of funding her dream: a memorial library to honor her father. Furthermore, the friendly postman shows a little too much interest in Annie—and in her father’s unpublished stories. In fact, he suspects these tales may hold a grand secret.
Though the postman’s intentions seem pure, Annie wants to share her father’s stories on her own terms. Determined to prove herself, Annie must forge her own path to aid her friend and create the future she’s always envisioned . . . where dreams really do come true.

I reviewed the first book in this series awhile ago, and while I did enjoy aspects of it, I had a hard time relating to the main character. The same thing happened in Annie's Stories...and for nearly all the same reasons. At first, I really hoped that I'd like Annie; she'd had a hard life and I wanted to root for her. But she seemed so sure that no one could understand her because they hadn't been through what she had, and she was so distrustful of men. It's not that she didn't have reason too, really, but it really started to annoy me the way she'd jump to conclusions about people. Then again, I've read some other reviews of the book and no one else seemed to have the same problem I did, so maybe I'm alone in my opinions.

I liked Stephen, though- even if he did make a few really foolish decisions.  But he had a good heart, and I loved the whole "whistling postman" aspect of the story.

I wouldn't recommend this to younger readers, though- Annie had lived in a terribly abusive, disturbing "charity" home, and then later they find a young girl who'd been raped. Nothing graphic, and the content was handled tactfully, but it still isn't a subject I'd be comfortable handing to younger readers.

Overall, I guess I enjoyed most of the first half of the book; it just struggled to keep my interest in the last half. Still, I've read some glowing reviews of this one, so even if Annie's Stories wasn't for me, I'm sure many readers of historical fiction will want to check it out.

Rating: 7

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Comments

  1. RissiJune 25, 2014 at 8:58 PM

    These books sound cute, but I never did read them. Thanks for your review. :)

    ReplyDelete

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