New Hope

New Hope
Ellen Gray Massey
Hard Shell Word Factory
ISBN: 0-7599-4672-8
Fiction, Romance
Reviewed by Qetesh

Claudia Montgomery was looking to put her troubled past behind her and start a fresh life as the new schoolteacher for New Hope School. She readied the schoolroom in anticipation for her first students to arrive, dusting desks, putting out slates and writing her name on the board. She was quite unprepared for the blue-eyed barefoot scamp that walked into the schoolhouse who unceremoniously s announced that he was Lil’ Harvey Webster.
I was completely enthralled by this little character on page one after he made the following statements.
"My dad says I'll get the meanness whupped outta me once I go to school. Do you whup hard?" He made a face as if preparing himself for a blow.” "My dad, he don't like you." Harvey studied her for a few seconds frowning. Then he smiled brightly showing a missing front tooth. "But I like you."
"Why doesn't your dad like me? Does he know me?"
"New, he don't know you. But he don't like no dames, especially book-learned, fancy, nice-smelling ones like you."
Claudia creatively finds ways to keep all her new students in school and embarks on the arduous task of breaking Lil’ Harvey Webster from cursing. She quite by chance meets his mysterious father one morning when she walks out of the schoolhouse and literally runs into his mare, and falls at his feet sprawling disgracefully on the ground. I think that day was love at first sight.
Situated in the Missouri Ozarks, this tale is one of those stories that captivates you from page one and won’t let you go until you finish reading the very last word. This is a classic romance that reminds me in theme of the Laura Ingalls Wilder series of books. The characters are unique and the writer sets the stage for romance by describing the lush beauty of the Ozark Mountain region. Overall, an excellent read!