1983 Rating: 4.5 stars2014 Rating: 3 starsThis is the first time I've re-read this book since it came out thirty years ago. As a YA reader, I absolutely adored it and the first two or three sequels (I think I read four books in this series as they came out); it went quite well with the Sunfire romances from Scholastic that I was reading at the time. I do remember that I enjoyed them much more than the Love Comes Softly series that I was reading around the same time. (I went to a very small, very conservative Christian school for junior high, and Oke's books were available in the school library and so were acceptable to carry around and read on breaks; most of the rest of what I read at home wasn't.)I've been . . . well, "enjoying" is a bit strong of a term . . . entertained recently by the Hallmark series inspired by When Calls the Heart, so I thought now would be as good a time as any to re-read it. I'm going to count this as my Inspy Historical Romance in my 2014 Genre Reading Challenge, though there are a few things about this book that, even by my definition, disqualify it from that genre.First, it's written in first-person. I'm not a big fan of first-person historicals and I have a hard time counting anything but those in the Gothic subgenre as "romance" novels---because for me, romance novels need to include the hero's POV as well as the heroine's.Second, though she gets a glimpse of the hero about 1/3 of the way into the book, she doesn't actually meet him and have a conversation with him until 50% of the way in. There's "insta-love" (because, let's recall, this is an Inspy romance, so it's definitely not insta-lust) on her part. His? We don't know---because, again, we don't get his POV.Third, there's very little relationship development between the two of them in the last 50% of the book because they're so rarely together. A picnic here, a family dinner there. All the while, he's maintaining his attitude that Mounties shouldn't marry because it's selfish---unfair to the woman, who won't be able to handle the kind of rough living that a Mountie in the outback of Canada (can I call it that?) would have to deal with.Other than those things, it's pretty standard Prairie Romance fare: City Girl goes West to teach in Country Town and has to learn how to rough-it while falling in love with Local Law Man. It even includes the Big Misunderstanding trope: she believes he's married and the father of one of the boys in her school. This Big Misunderstanding carries through most of the last half of the book because, let's face it, there is almost no relationship development, so there's no conversation in which the truth can be revealed. And Wynn never uses the terms "my sister-in-law" or "my nephew," which might clue her in. If he's as interested in Elizabeth as he's supposed to be, you'd think that, after continually getting the cold shoulder from her, he might take the opportunity to drop a few terms like that into a conversation to see if that makes a difference.This book is basically Christy-lite: first person, wide-eyed, naive heroine; country school house; learning the quirks of a small town, etc. The good thing here, though, is that there's no love triangle forced upon the heroine. (Oh, and as far as that goes, in Christy, I'm Team-David all the way!)Revisiting this book, I was really surprised by how little a presence the Mounties have, and what little attention is paid to the fact that Wynn is a Mountie. I guess because I have the memory of the story as it continues after they're married in the sequels, and because that's a huge draw of the TV show (ahhhhh, Mountie Jack!), I expected it to be more of a...thing in the book. The red serge coat, the boots, the hat, etc. But it's really downplayed in the book.Another thing that surprised me going back to this one was how light it is on the Inspy part. It's clean, she goes to church, she prays, she's shown reading her Bible. There was one long "internal sermon" section that I skipped over (when she's having a long internal monologue over what she's just read in her quiet time), but other than that, there isn't any Bible thumping, verse quoting, witnessing/evangelizing, or sermonizing in this book (unlike in Love Comes Softly, where there's a full presentation of the gospel so Marty can get saved to be worthy of Clark's love). All said, this was a quick, light read, and, while at twelve years old, I couldn't wait for the next book in the series, I do believe that a revisit to the first volume is quite enough for me now.
This was a wonderful little book. I have read some of Janette Oke's books before and enjoyed them, so when I spotted this series I was excited to start reading it.When Calls the Heart is the first book in Oke's Canadian West Series. It follows a main character of Elizabeth and is written in the first person from her perspective.A school teacher back East, she travels to the West to begin a new school teaching job at the advice of her brother Jon. Before she learns of her assignment, the superintendent tries to woo her, and in failing to do so seemingly banishes her 150 miles North to the town of Pine Springs.Determined to make the best of it, Elizabeth travels there and sets up her school. She is delighted to find that she has her own little home by the schoolhouse instead of boarding and also that her brother's handsome friend Wynn Delaney is also in residence at Pine Springs as well.The children she teaches are mostly charming and her heart goes out to all of them in unique ways. She makes close friends with a family of immigrants nearby and these children frequently appear in the novel to help her out and spend time with her so she doesn't become too lonely on her own.Another student in particular, a boy named Andy, is frequently sick but a favorite of hers and all the other children. Having been in an accident when he was quite young, he has trouble learning but is always positive and supportive of everyone else. When his sickness gets worse they raise money to send him to a doctor. This involves a fundraiser put on by Elizabeth and the schoolchildren.During this fundraiser, Wynn, whom she now believes to be married, wins an auction for a lunch with her and she is so thoroughly embarrassed to be pursued by a "married" man that she sets forth a sequence of events to turn him down at every opportunity, despite secretly admiring him.It is only when she discovers her mistake that she realizes her deep feelings for him and can only be saddened as he appears to love his job more than her. He is very particular to his job and does not feel that being the wife of a Mountie is anything he would do to someone he loves.Oke, while being a Christian writer, does not get overly hard handed or preachy with her writing. While some references and scriptures may be written in, she prefers to lead by example; having her characters do acts of good rather than preach about them. This makes it easy for even those who are not very religious to read her books. Her writing, while not overly complex suits the romance genre just fine and you can connect to her characters as they seem like real people. They aren't just perfect characters that do whatever is right and good, they have flaws just like everyone else.Oke also took the time to include a bit of history in this story which helps the reader to understand the background and setting of the novel. She elaborates on the town of Calgary and also of the Mounties as one of the main characters, Wynn Delaney, is a Mountie himself.I really enjoyed the premise of this novel. Most often writers have the heroine just falling into the arms of their chosen man. Elizabeth is not like that. She is strong enough on her own and doesn't need a man, she only consents because she is truly in love, not dependent upon him. I feel that this shapes her character a lot better than if she had just stuck to regular romance and had Elizabeth completely infatuated with the man. It made the story more believable.The only fault I would find with the novel is Wynn's quick change of heart at the end. While it was written to seem that he couldn't stomach the thought of being without her, due to his earlier convictions that were so strong, it just seems unlikely that he would change his mind so easily.Janette Oke is a fantastic story teller and her novels reflect life on the early plains of Canada. They are a pleasure to read and are perfect for a lazy Sunday or rainy afternoon.When Calls the HeartCopyright 1983220 pages
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Janette Oke and I go way back. In the waning days of my total obsession with Oregon Trail books as a child, I came across her books in middle school and became obsessed with them for their innocent love stories (my mother was thankful for this too) and their historical fiction settings. I'm a pretty voracious reader, but Janette Oke is a very prolific writer, so I think her Canadian West series are the only ones I never read. (And this is terrible, but the copies my library had had hideous ugly, plastic peeling covers and brown/tan cover pictures - total violation of the don't judge a book by it's cover!!). When I saw this book as a free kindle ebook, I was instantly nostalgic for my pre-teen Janette Oke days and started reading it. As far as Christian fiction goes, Oke is among the least pushy and preachy of the bunch. Her interweaving of faith in her characters is very tastefully done and I never feel like I'm reading a religious book, but just a novel about people who happen to hold their faith as important. I really loved Elizabeth and her story as a one-room schoolteacher on the Canadian frontier. Her struggles living on her own and coping with mice and making do reminded me a lot of Little House on the Prairie. Wynn is obviously Elizabeth's crush from the beginning and I admired his character and his dedication to his profession. My only complaint with this book is it was too short! I didn't feel like it gave enough time to fully develop the characters or the love story. Otherwise a very sweet, simple read. 3.5 stars
—Sarah Beth
This isn't a literary masterpiece, but it is a very sweet story and I really enjoyed the heart of the main character, Elizabeth. She is such a great example for young women, and her heart to want to help her students is so inspiring. I read so many heavy, thought-provoking, and intellectual-type books that I needed something to lighten my mood - and I felt good about life when I read the last page. My teenage daughter will read this series when I am finished with it. Overall, it's a very easy, light read - perfect for the summer, beach or in my case the week before school starts!
—Melissa
This book started out in a promising way, despite that fact that the plot was crystal clear and there were spatterings of formal language interspersed in and around the more casual setting, which made for an uneven read. This is a typical Christian romance. The gorgeous heroine, the gorgeous hero, the cliche emotions and phrases, and the unoriginal conversations about God and faith. For a while, I thought I would like it, because Elizabeth had some spirit and she wasn't perfect. But as soon as s
—AlixJamie
