Sleeping Beauty I'm Not: "Waiting for Summer's Return" by Kim Sawyer

(republished from previous blog, posted c. 2014)

Every now and then I come across a couple that are so sweet with each other, it makes my heart warm. Usually, but not always, they have been childhood sweethearts.

However, all the relationships I’ve ever had with men have been fraught with angst, turmoil, and just plain friction. It makes for some highs and lows, but rarely is the relationship showered with the ongoing tenderness I see in these sweet couples. Don’t get me wrong, there is tenderness. But there’s also an awful lot of conflict.

Maybe that’s why I don’t write books about “those” kinds of couples. It may be why I don’t find books about those sorts of relationships interesting either. There’s likely not enough of “me” in those kinds of stories. Honestly, they just don’t seem real.

Or, maybe I just enjoy the conflict in a relationship? Hmmm. I don’t think I’ll go there today.

One thing is for sure. Sleeping Beauty I'm not. My Prince Charming didn't kiss me and wake me up so we could live happily ever after.

I just finished racing through Kim Vogel Sawyer’s Waiting for Summer’s Return. (It is currently available for free on Kindle.) First, let me say I have never read Sawyer before. Her website advertises “gentle stories of hope” and Waiting for Summer’s Return certainly delivered.

Bostonian Summer Steadham is stranded in a Mennonite town in Kansas after the deaths of her husband and four children of typhoid. In order to remain close to their graves, she takes a job as a tutor for widower Peter Ollenberger’s ten year old son, Thomas . Peter is a sweet, admirable, hardworking man. He is infinitely patient with Summer which, in her grief stricken state, she needs. I liked him, but I sure wanted him to lose his temper at least once. He really was almost too good to be true. I really couldn’t find any fault in the man at all.

As a matter of fact, I couldn’t find fault with any of the characters beside the townspeople at the beginning who don’t like Summer because she is not a Mennonite. As a result, I didn’t find enough high energy conflict in the book to keep me interested in reading every word. I skipped over the substory of Summer’s conversion to the Mennonite faith as well as her ministering to her mother-in-law near the end of the book. I found it preachy and too slow for me to wade through reading. I kept waiting for an explosion between Summer, an obvious outsider, and the Mennonites, who were clearly displeased with her arrival in their community. After a few harsh words between Peter and church elders, one woman befriends Summer and the rest soon follow.

The one creeping fault in Summer’s character is her selfish and persistent decision to drag her husband and children from Boston to a life on the Kansas prairie over their wishes. I waited for the gut wrenching emotional turmoil that would set her towards the struggle of taming her selfish side. It never happened. She acknowledged it briefly, and that was the end of the matter. Even Peter’s son, ten year old Thomas, is too good to be true.

If you’re a fan of sweet romances and don’t mind long sections devoted to Christianity, then you’ll enjoy Sawyer’s portrayal of two people trying to move past their pain to find love. If you like grittier fiction, like Kirsten Heitzmann and Judith Pella, or fiction with a Christian worldview without any overt plot about Christianity, then you’ll be disappointed.

As for those sweet older couples, I guess I won’t be one of them.

Hmmm!

About Donna

Donna Hechler Porter has always had stories in her head. When they were not swirling and gnawing, she had her head in a history book - both fiction and non-fiction. Now, she puts her love of old things, including her genealogy, to good use by writing both genealogy books and novels. She has published five historical novels, several of which have won awards, four genealogy books on her family history, and several smallish books including a book on the 1778 Big Siege of Fort Boonesborough and a book with tips and tricks for bringing history to life for young people. A graduate of Texas A & M University, she currently teaches middle school English and literature at a small private school east of Houston and runs a private tutoring business. She stops for all garage sales and to collect treasures from the side of the road. She dreams of life in a log cabin in the woods, even as she is addicted to antique and thrift shopping.

_________________________________________________________________________

If you live in southeast Texas and would like Donna to come speak at your reading, genealogy, or history club, please contact her. She is more than likely to say yes! 

Need a topic for Donna to present? Check out her already created topics here or suggest one of your own.

_________________________________________________________________________

Sign up for Donna's newsletter "A Petticoat & A Pen" by scrolling back to the top of the page and clicking the link. You will get the first updates on my latest projects, tips for your own writing journey, insights into my writing world, and more! Best of all, a FREE gift is waiting for you at the other end!