Fields of the Fatherless by Elaine Marie Cooper--review and giveaway

The battle of Concord comes alive through the utterly sympathetic character of Betsy Russell, an authentic 18-year-old farm girl from colonial Massachusetts. Diary posts inspire this fictionalized account of the emotionally charged months leading up to the first shots of the American Revolution. Betsy's vulnerability and honesty carry a tale of grit, loss, and ultimate triumph through faith.

Betsy battles her growing fears in the changing times in Menotomy, a small town on the road between Concord and Boston. Young men she knows have already joined the militia, while older men like her father would shelter her from the horrors to come. But even wise and faithful Jason Russell cannot spare her innocent eyes forever.

What transpires among her family and close-knit townsfolk on that fateful April day will affect her the rest of her life, but not without passing through the filter of an earthly father's prescient wisdom and a heavenly father's sovereignty. Betsy must learn which battle lines to draw and which to surrender to the Lord's love.

Written with a tender authenticity and faithfulness to the times, Elaine Cooper has opened a portal to a world gone by, and yet drawn parallels to a world not so different now. This is a beautiful novel ideal for young students of history and literature, as well as for adults who cherish the power of a good story.

I'll be interviewing Elaine on Wednesday, and commenters today and then will be entered to win a print copy of Elaine's fabulous novel. Be sure to leave your email addy with comment.

At the end of the week