"An Awakened Heart" by Jody Hedlund

 


This free novella is a prequel to Hedlund's upcoming Orphan Train series, the first of which released last week and I will be reviewing soon. "An Awakened Heart" reads more like an extended prologue than a self-contained story, although it does have a plot and will hold your attention. I would recommend reading it with the next book in hand so you can move straight on into the next part of the story.

Set in 1850s New York City, our story opens with Christine Pendleton having a burden to help women who are trapped by horrid working conditions and tenement living. She has begun attending the outreach services at Centre Street Chapel, but feels that preaching without practical help is not what would best serve these women. While Christine has resigned herself to spinsterhood, she is grateful to have enough wealth to not be worried about her own living, and is ready to find a way to use her money for the improvement of her community.

Minister Guy Bedell has never met anyone who is as passionate about real, practical reform as the soft-spoken Christine. As he catches her vision and desires to help those who are poverty-stricken, he realizes that his benefactors, the Ladies Home Missionary Society, may think her views too radical. He may have to choose between employment and following God's call.

Woven alongside Christine's story is that of Elise Neumann, a teenager who finds herself responsible for her younger sisters after the death of their parents. Although she works all day sewing, she cannot bring in enough to support all of them. Refusing to accept prostitution as a way to pay the rent, Elise is desperate but determined. While her path crosses with Christine's almost randomly, it soon becomes clear that Miss Pendleton's help may be exactly what is needed for the Neumann sisters.

I am looking forward to seeing this story continue in "With You Always."