Title: Maggie’s Journey (McKenna’s Daughters, Book 1)
Author: Lena Nelson Dooley
Publisher: Realms
Date: October 2011
ISBN: 978161638589
Genre: Historical Fiction
Reviewed by: Cara Putman
With Maggie’s Journey, Lena Nelson Dooley crafts an engaging first book in a story of triplets separated at birth. Maggie Caine is approaching her 18th birthday, living under the stress of a mother who can’t seem to accept her. As she explores the attic, she stumbles upon a possible reason for the desire to change her. Her world shifts with all she knows, or thought she knew, about herself changed in a moment. Her parents let her go on a long-desired trip to visit her grandmother in Little Rock – a woman who shares Maggie’s love of designing dresses.
Maggie’s Journey is well-crafted. The longer I read, the more I cared about Maggie, her mother, and the other characters. The angst between Maggie and her mom was so strong at the beginning, I had to read past it. It almost stopped my reading, but Lena is such a craftsman with words I kept reading. I am so glad I did. Once the journey to Little Rock began, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The love triangle has an interesting angle that adds to the fun in the middle of the book. I also enjoyed the way that the story held a strong thread of Maggie’s parents’ romance as well as Maggie’s journey.
At the end, this is a charming story about coming home and the journey to know who we really are. Thoroughly enjoyable, and I look forward to reading the other books in this series.
Reveiw by: Cara C. Putman http://www.caraputman.com — http://www.facebook.com/caraputman
Releasing in 2012: Cherry Blossom Capers, A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island, & Rainbow’s End (All Barbour)
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