Letters from My Sister by Valerie Fraser Luesse

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Once again, this book was from one of my favorite authors. I think I have read all the books that Valerie has written and I will continue to keep my eye out for new ones. 

This book was so good. I'm not sure how to describe it, it was so very different from what you have expected from a well-to-do southern family in the early 1900's. They were a big family, six children, and had a good relationship with their employees. Considering that it wasn't that many years post-Civil War and their employees were mostly African-Americans, that seems unusual for that time period, but I loved it and I am sure there were real families that were like that as well. 

A fun fact from the book is that the matriarch of the family shared my name, Aurelia. That is quite unusual and was kind of fun and weird at the same time. I rarely see my name anywhere and to read about it was a different experience. 

Callie was also a fun character in the story and one who tried to defy convention as much as she could by climbing trees, swimming, and etc. I loved following her life. 

But the pain and death in this story were unexpected and quite sad. And yet, watching the family bond together even closer was also beautiful. The silver lining aspect, I guess you could say. I'm not sure what else to say about the book without giving too much away. Just go read it for yourself, it's worth it. 

I received this book from Revell Publishing and was not required to write a positive review.  All opinions expressed are my own. 






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