| Title | : | When Hope Springs New (Canadian West, #4) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0764200143 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780764200144 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 216 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1986 |
When Hope Springs New (Canadian West, #4) Reviews
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This is a Christian historical fiction, and this is the 4th book in the Canadian West Book series. I found this book was so well-written. The characters in this book are very developed, and I love following these characters. I really enjoyed seeing Elizabeth overcoming being put in a very small local Indian village. I love how this book shows how strong and strong well woman are. I think if you want to read an historical fiction, but you do not want it to be a War historical fiction then you should check out this series.
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When Hope Springs New is book four of Janette Oke’s Canadian West Series. At the books start we find Wynn and Elizabeth Delaney on their way to his new assignment from The Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They are traveling to the Indian reservation at Smoke Lake Alberta. It is further North than the Beaver Creek Reservation and Elizabeth and Wynn find the Indians there to not be as advanced or friendly. It is especially hard for Elizabeth because as hard as she tries to be friendly with the Indian women they will not except the paleface woman. They feel the spirits will be angry with them and that paleface woman will bring bad luck to them. Elizabeth suffers from loneliness and especially when Wynn is away from the village. After the first winter there spring fails to bring rain and soon the drought makes everything very dry. A fire breaks out and takes whatever is in its’ path including the village of Smoke Lake. After the fire the villagers fight for survival and they look at Elizabeth in a whole different way. Can Elizabeth help the Indians recover from the fire ?
I always enjoy these classics by Janette Oke. I listened to an audio of this book and it was narrated by Nancy Peterson. I never fail to get drawn into these historical stories and I enjoy reading about how people lived in the frontier days. I enjoyed the Audio version and I’m looking forward to the next book in this series. -
Originally posted on Reveries Reviews.
I feel like there was only meant to be one or two of these books and Janette Oke just kept stringing them out ’cause they were popular. I didn’t really enjoy this book very much. I liked Elizabeth and Wynn still, yes, but I guess I just got sick of them. It’s the same Elizabeth and Wynn of the last three books, and I guess some people really want that, but I just can’t take it anymore.
I guess I just ended up being kinda disappointed with this series as a whole. I did love the first book, but after that they got steadily worse and worse. Yes, there’s a lot of sweet Christian content, but I never absolutely loved Elizabeth. Then, in this book, the ending seemed so random and just there. Not worth the rest, in my opinion.
~Kellyn Roth -
About this book:
“Leaving behind their dear friends in Beaver Creek, Elizabeth and Wynn take over an even more primitive RCMP outpost in the Canadian Northwest. Elizabeth finds herself totally isolated when the local Indian women are afraid to even communicate with her. The Delaneys thought they had already faced the most crushing disappointment of their lives when they saw little Sammy disappear from view in the arms of his father. Would they be able to survive the challenges ahead?”
Series: Book #3 of the “Canadian West” series. (Book #1 review Here! Book #2 review Here! Book #3 review Here!) {There is a movie based on the first book of this series with the same name, plus a TV series on Hallmark about the continuation of the series, “Return to the Canadian West.” }
Spiritual Content- Talks about God, trusting Him & promises; Witnessing; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Many, many Prayers & Blessings over food; A handful of Scriptures are quoted; Christmas; Mentions of Church going and actually going to Church and volunteering to help; Mentions of Bible studies and Scripture reading;
*Note: Many mentions of Indian’s gods, them dancing to please said gods, spirits, magic, witchcraft & a witch doctor.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘dumb’, Mentions of curses (which may be said but not written); A dog gets sprayed by a skunk (semi-detailed); Mentions of dog fights; Mentions of dead & injured dogs (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of dead animals, hunting, trapping and skinned animals; A couple mentions of using the bathroom outside (no details); A mention of a man who beats his wife; A couple mentions of drinking, drunks, jail, fights, & knives; Mentions of smoking, tobacco, and cigarettes;
Sexual Content- a not-detailed kiss; a cheek kiss; Touches & Embraces (barely-above-not-detailed); Wynn gives Elizabeth a playful pat on her bottom; Quite a few Mentions of Indian men who have more than one wife; Love, marriage, & the emotions. (Very light)
-Elizabeth Thatcher
1st person P.O.V. of Elizabeth
Set in 1916-1918
216 pages
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Pre Teens- Two Stars
New Teens- Three Stars
Early High School Teens- Four Stars
Older High School Teens- Five Stars
My personal Rating- Four Stars
I personally think that this was the best book in the series since the first one! I know y’all are probably tired of me commenting on how clean this author’s books are, but oh! Really though! “When Hope Spring New” is written in first person in the main character’s POV and she married. But look how clean and little there is of the Sexual Content! I really would love to see more authors like Janette Oke in the Christian Fiction world. :)
Link to review:
http://booksforchristiangirls.blogspo...
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author. -
4.5 stars.
And with that, ladies and gentlemen, I have officially listened to the first four books in this series. I enjoyed all of them! Now this is romance I can get behind, though it's not romance in terms of man and woman getting together, but rather 'married' romance. I just adore Wyn and Elizabeth's relationship, a perfect example of marriage.
And it is SO refreshing to see how grounded the characters are in their faith. How deeply they love God and each other. They naturally turn to God in times of trial, it is WONDERFUL to read.
Oh, and we must not forget Kip! Who can't help but love Kip, that fluffy beautiful obedient husky dog! He's just an amazing sidekick in and of himself.
I may safely and officially declare that the books are much better than the tv series in my opinion, and the TV series does not even remotely follow the plot put forth in these books.
Also, the narrator for these audiobooks, Nancy Peterson I believe is her name, was PERFECT. She sounded exactly like what I imagine Elizabeth's voice would sound like.
Which is why I'm sad that the next two books in this series do not have her as the narrator 😫 (There seems to be some sort of break between books 1-4 and books 5-6.) I've started listening to the second book, which no longer focuses on Wyn and Elizabeth but one or two of their adopted children. I'm still trying to decide if I like the narrator on that one. We'll see... -
I enjoyed this story. I was glad that Elizabeth wasn’t dealing with depression and sadness even though the new posting was more of a challenge. The “excitement” was quite different than usual and it kept me reading, but didn’t have me on the edge of my seat which was nice. I liked how things wrapped up in the end of this book. It brought things to a close without giving everything a “perfect ending” and yet it was the perfect ending.
I wouldn’t mind reading this series again some time. -
This was a lovely continuation of Oke's Canadian West series. It starts perhaps a few days/weeks off from the last book.
Elizabeth and Wynn are traveling even further North to a more remote village. When they reach there Elizabeth is dismayed to find that no one will talk to her and hardly look at her. Despite her best efforts to find friends, she cannot. The house they live in is also little more than a shack.
She spends the first Autumn, Winter, and most of Spring by herself. Then, one day while Wynn is away a fire sweeps through the village. It is up to Elizabeth to organize something as everyone else is in a panic.
After the devastating fire, Wynn receives orders that they can no longer stay there. They are instead moved to the town of Athabasca Landing. This place is modern and after years of living in the wilderness, Elizabeth is amazed at all the amenities. She soon finds herself being a part of the church and people, and she and Wynn even take in a troubled boy named Henry. Her adventures have been toned down until Wynn receives his next assignment.
Since Oke's is a Christian writer I"ll touch a bit on the religious element of this book. There isn't too much. While she makes mention here and there of asking for help from God or guidance, most of the time she shows the Christian attitude through action.
Like most of her writings, there is nothing offensive to be found in this book. No strong language or harsh descriptions. We see the year through Elizabeth's eyes and since she is a calm character, the book is serene. The characters are all believable as Oke takes the time to go into their thoughts and actions. We can see that the Native Americans have spiritual beliefs and we can see Elizabeth's impatience. This makes them more real to me. Nobody is perfect or complete, they all have human qualities.
This novel moved quite a bit faster than the other ones did. While it only covered a year, it seemed that the story went by extremely quickly. The time spent in the village was not as much as I thought it would be until they moved on to the next town.
This is a good book to read anytime. I actually read it while waking up from anesthesia so it isn't too hard to understand! The storyline is simple and just brings a nice addition to the rest of the Delaney's story.
When Hope Springs New
Copyright 1986
308 pages (Large Print Book) -
I have enjoyed revisiting the first four books in the Canadian West series. These four books star Elizabeth and Wynn. One thing I've been doing is imagining Elizabeth and Wynn on an episode of House Hunters. I've been thinking about what Elizabeth's wishlist for a house would look like before and after. What would it have been like before marriage, before traveling with her husband to Beaver Creek and serving several years, and, what it would have looked like AFTER they left Beaver Creek. I have an idea that Elizabeth would NOT have had "open concept" on her wishlist. She'd have wanted ROOMS, for ROOMS meant privacy and a greater sense of home. I think her wishlist would have included FLOORS however. In this last novel, she's in a one-room structure with dirt floors. There is not an outhouse. There isn't even a community outhouse--which would have taken getting used to. She simply learns that there are paths from the village leading to the woods. Certain paths for women and children. Certain paths for men. (In Beaver Creek, Elizabeth had it good. Wynn hired men to build her a private outhouse in their yard within the first week or two of moving!) World War I is taking place, and here Elizabeth and Wynn are living in a one room house, dirt floors, stove with two burners, two whole shelves, two chairs and a table, a bed in the corner, and nail pegs in the wall for hanging stuff. And this has to serve as their home and his office.
If there has been one thing I've not loved from this series, something that may date the series a bit, is its treatment of "Indians." The language is not politically correct or not politically correct enough. Readers are reminded again and again how primitive and savage and uncivilized and superstitious these Indians are. Mostly in the fourth book where readers learn that "these Indians" aren't like the other Indians from Beaver Creek that have lived among white people and become civilized and somewhat respectable. Wynn and Elizabeth are facing more of a "first contact" type of experience. Elizabeth never forgets that she's the first white woman and what a special opportunity this is. Great emphasis is placed on these strange chants and dances.
Anyway, in this fourth novel, Elizabeth and Wynn travel to their new assignment. Life is hard; really hard. Elizabeth finds it absolutely impossible to make friends. She tries every single day. She keeps approaching the Indian women and speaking to them in the language she learned at Beaver Creek. She even seems to stalk paths where she hears children laughing and playing. She walks with picture books and holds up the bright and colorful pictures, turning the pages, hoping to wow children into approaching her instead of running away. But Elizabeth is at her best, perhaps, in this one. When a fire threatens the entire village while the men are away, Elizabeth takes command and saves the day...
I like the series as a whole. But the first book is probably the best. -
I loved this book as much as the first. The series is doing a good job of coming full circle both in the storyline and for the characters. I like that in this installment of the series, Wynn and Elizabeth were finally working together as a team rather than as individuals like they seemed to do in the second and third books. Whether or not they were together when events and calamities took place, they handled things as if they were both there to garner wisdom from. This was especially evident in Elizabeth's character. She grew a lot since that second book following the first year of her and Wynn's lives together. She grew stronger and more confident in any situation, whether they lived in a small town or out in the middle of the wilderness, she seemed to keep her wits about her whereas the old Elizabeth had the tendency to just wait for Wynn to fix things. I feel like her character has made a lot of good progress throughout the series.
I'm not exactly sure that Wynn is growing as much. However that might be because we don't see a first person perspective from him in the series. Everything is from Elizabeth's perspective or written about them both as unit. To a certain degree, it's a little sad that we readers don't get to experience Wynn's adventures with him. While we wouldn't be as interested to see him fix up a burn victim's leg, I'm certain many would have enjoyed reading his thoughts on Elizabeth and their neighbors. It would have been interesting to see the moments when he was worried and the instances when he was proud of her.
On the whole, the series has been pretty excellent. I like seeing in this book how God brought about giving Wynn and Elizabeth a child and how they adjusted, not just to one, but two new homes and destinations.
As a small note, I found that this book made me extremely thankful for God's providence in my life. Reading how Elizabeth and the Indians managed after the fire made me all the more grateful for the small things that God does to cloth and feed my family. I find myself very thankful for the oatmeal we eat at breakfast after reading about cornmeal gruel Elizabeth made. -
So another book that I read in May and didn't review until now. (I own the whole series and was re-reading)
When Hope Springs New is a great book, and I like it more than the first one.
Content: hugs/kisses between a married couple. Mentions of blood, wounds. A boy is abused by family, but no details. -
I remember that I read this series when I was still in high school. Back then, I find this series just a "lovestory" but now as I read it again, I appreciated it more, realizing how God uses people and situations unexpectedly for His kingdom. :) we only have to trust Him even if we don't understand, he knows what is best....
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Excellent read. Godly leadership & service ring through each page, Mrs. Oke describes the struggles & hardships as an outsider.
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DNF
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This was such a disappointment and I honestly wish I could undo my reading of books 2-4 in this series. There's such a white saviour complex to the narrative and this one was the worst of all. Oke doesn't even leave us with a clean ending, just the same abrupt finish of all the other books that makes you feel like someone left the last pages out and you therefore have to read the next book to find out what happens next. But apparently what happens next is that book five jumps many years into the future and focuses on other characters, so I won't be reading that.
I know I've been deliberately pushing aside just how problematic the settings of these novels are, and the way Oke writes about the Native peoples amongst whom Elizabeth and Wynn live is at best terribly outdated and at worst openly racist. I went into this series wanting some light easy listening. I grew deeply fond of Elizabeth and Wynn in the first book, and used the memory of this give myself permission to follow their journey after book two ("I simply must learn what happens to them," thought I). I wish I hadn't. I feel kind of sordid from reading these, which is literally the last thing I'd expected to feel from reading Christian fiction!!
Two stars rather than one for the fact that Oke's work is such easy reading (listening, in my case) that I whizzed through this in almost no time at all. There's something compelling and comforting in her writing. I'm ashamed to feel that way, but as I reserve one star reviews for matter I really can't get through, this book is not in that category.
Life Lessons:
There is good to be found everywhere we may find ourselves. We can always be useful, make friends and support our community. -
another sweet and quick read from ms. oke. I enjoyed reading about Elizabeth's adventures in the West a lot in this one. :) it ended rather abruptly which was disappointing, but I didn't mind too bad. I don't expect this to be some great work of literature - just something calming and not too thought provoking. as always, I love the faith aspect in this story and how it's woven so well into the plot.
I've heard that the last two books don't continue the same storyline so I'm not jumping to finish those but I imagine I'll get to them sometime in the future. -
These really are lovely, well written books which are a delight to the heart and so easy to read. While completely imaginary, they glow with life and joy and have brought much joy to me. In this 4th installment, Beth and Wynn move to a new Indian town, Smoke Lake, and have an entirely different experience to their previous village. While not perfectly PC this book stands the test of time, painting frontier life in the hands of the LORD in bright colour and with warmth, wit and wisdom.
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I enjoyed this book the most in this series although it had some of the hardest circumstances. Through desperate times were learned the greatest lessons and brought her from stranger to sought after leader. How God works to bring good from hard times and His faithfulness were brought out over and over!
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I've loved the series, very fast reads, nice and relaxing yet uplifting. I appreciate that everything didn't turn out "perfectly" - as Elizabeth would have wished. I love that Wynn and Elizabeth grew their family through foster and adoption.
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This book was great, almost as good as the first. I have been really enjoying this series and find it hard to put them down. I recommend this series to all you Hearties/bookworms out there. Love them!!!😍
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This might be my favourite one of the series, so far. I can't believe the amount of growth from Elizabeth, this has been such a fun, wholesome journey.
And please, for the love of everything good GET THIS WOMAN HER OWN BABY it seriously breaks my heart at this point. -
Another good addition to The Canadian West series!
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Review coming soon.
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Book four proved to be more refreshing in pace than the previous installment because Elizabeth and Wynn eventually left the primitive area for the more sophisticated city life. This goes to show just how much setting can impact a story's conflict and characters.
Another excellent source of conflict that was missing in book three was the separation of Elizabeth and Wynn due to Wynn's Mountie duties. Here we finally see Elizabeth step up in a leadership role and ingratiate herself with the Indian natives after much struggling. Their reunion proved sweet and well earned, providing an excellent climax to the character conflict and development for our main character.
Their move to the city, and giving Elizabeth the chance to teach once more, brings in a new cast of characters that refreshes the story of the Mountie and school teacher who fell in love with him and is willing to follow him to the ends of the Earth. -
*4.5
This one was a little slower to pick up than the earlier books, but definitely picked up steam at the end! -
To me this book in the series is heavier on the religion than the other 3, so I could do without that part. I didn't start reading it because it was a religious series, I started because the first book sounded intriguing in all other aspects of its story. This book was the same. I totally loved the story she told, which is good with or without the religious parts. I am going to finish reading the series to find out what happens with Elizabeth and Wynn!
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I found that the start of this book to be quite slow and....................dragging. A real shame as I very much love this series so far. It was not until I got to the part of the Forest Fire at Smoke Lake that it really started to get interesting.
I mean before that, you could really feel the emotions of the Indian People towards Elizabeth, about her presence there. You as well can really feel the emotions of Elizabeth and how much of an outcast she feels from the people.
All up until the forest fire. Once the forest fire then everything began to get better. The peoples attitudes had changed towards Elizabeth and Elizabeth had to really learn what real Survival off the land really meant. Especially with very limited resources and having to serve her own Indian Family and making the supplies last until they had more. She began to become real close with the settlement and had even earned the great honour of the Chief.
Once the story picked up then it really began to flow and move fast. Now that I have finished I feel a little sad but much glad that I have finished it.
Knowing that this series is really based around Religion and God, the past 3 books it did not really feel like that. I mean it was there, the presence was there, but it did not feel pushed or forced onto the reader. In this book that changed. I felt that it was really forced and pushed onto the reader and it made me feel uncomfortable about that. I do believe in God and I do believe that we all have a choice in it and in believing. In this book it felt like that choice was taken away and that the writer was pushing their belief onto the reader through the characters, especially when Elizabeth says that only God can help her. That its great that someone in the settlement believes in God and wants them to push it onto the rest of the settlement. A little forced.
I do like the book though. 4 Stars -
Štvrtá časť série príbehov z Kanadskej prérie je opäť plná neznámych skúseností, ktoré Beth s Wynnom zažívajú, a ktoré s nimi môžeme aj my, čitatelia, prežívať.
Nový povolávací rozkaz, nové prostredie, noví ľudia a s tým spojené aj nové výzvy. No ak si Beth myslela, že začlenenie medzi domácich v Bobrej rieke bolo náročné, v novom Wynnovom pôsobisku, v Dymovom jazere, pochopí, že to bola prechádzka ružovou záhradou.
V novej dedine nevie po anglicky nikto, ľudia sa od nej odvracajú, pretože je vôbec prvá žena "bielej tváre", ktorú indiáni vidia a to v nich vyvoláva nedôveru. Beth prežije svoju najosamelejšiu zimu, keď jedinú spoločnosť jej robí Wynn a Kip, z ktorého udomácnenia sa domáci Beth smejú, pretože si mysliam že z neho spravila svoje dieťa. Spoločenská Beth týmto odsúdením a odvrhnutím trp��, často sa zveruje do Božích rúk a vyprosuje si veľa sily.
Nebol by to kľudný rok (a príbeh), keby naši hrdinovia opäť nečelili prekážkam, ktoré ich postavia do náročnej pozície, tentokrát sa v nej Beth ocitne sama, keďže v čase tragickej udalosti je Wynn na výprave. Opäť sa však všetko obráti na dobré a Beth pocíti, že dôvera v Boha je to jediné, čo často potrebuje na prekonanie ťažkých chvíľ, a že ak dôveruje, Boh dokáže jej trápenie premeniť na radosť.
V tejto knihe by som kľudne privítala aj 100 strán navyše, veľmi ma bavilo čítať o zvykoch a tradíciách indiánov, ale aj nové prostredie, kde sme sa ocitli na konci knihy by vystačilo kľudne na celú jednu knihu. Chápem zámer autorky, byť stručná a neunavovať, ale čím viac som ponorená do životov Beth a Wynna, tým viac chcem s nimi prežívať čo najviac času. -
This is an interesting entry to the series if I am honest. The ending didn't make me want to read on in the way the others did (I finished this 9 days ago and still not read on in the series!) and yet I'd argue this was the most readable and entertaining book after the first one.
The ending of this, when Elizabeth and Wynn are back in civilisation was interesting in the juxtaposition of what they'd become used to, but was actually somewhat boring. For me the best parts of this were seeing how they both handled being so isolated with the Indians, and how Elizabeth coped with that moreso. It's rare I think to see the 'white woman' as the outsider and even if Oke does portray the Indians as 'un-enlightened' and potentially stereotypical, I still found the way they viewed Elizabeth interesting.
Elizabeth really comes into her own here I thought, she learns she can cope with lonelines and how to cope in a crisis. Before it seemed like she relied on Wynn a lot, but this is no longer the case really. It makes them far more equal in the wilds of Northern (or should that be North-Western Canada).
It's been 9 days and I haven't felt a need to read on and see how this story ends in the remaining two books, but I think I can see myself reading them at some point in the near future. I don't need to see how this ends, but I kind of want to. -
These books are primarily written for an audience younger than myself, I think, but I thought the story-line was better in this one than in some of the previous books in this series.
Brief Summary: Wynn and Elizabeth are newly posted in an isolated Indian camp. She is the first white woman they have ever seen, and distrust her due to their superstitious religion. She finds it impossible to make friends and spends a lonely winter exercising with Kip in-between hard chores. Then, one day after she plants her garden, a forest fire erupts. She has the presence of mind to command the people and thus saves the entire village, which is burnt down. After the fire she continues to organize "families" and food expeditions, etc., and through the ordeal the Indian people come to revere her and almost consider her to be god-like. Even the chief listens to her and relays her instructions to the braves, etc. After this victory, however, Wynn and Elizabeth are moved again, because there isn't time to build a sufficient shelter before the next winter. The couple moves to Athabasca Landing and are ordered to stay there beyond the winter months.
I most enjoyed the part about the fire and the immediate time thereafter (chapters 13-25).
