Reader Response

Reader Response #1:

I'm reading the book Angel Sister by Ann H. Gabhart, copyright 2011. This book is 403 pages of love, struggles, forgiveness, strength, and perseverance. Angel Sister takes place in Rosey Corner, Kentucky, in the year of 1936, right in the middle of the Great Depression.

I chose to read this book over others because it’s a Christian novel and the plotline interested me a lot. Historical fiction would not usually be my genre of choice; I prefer books that take place in modern times because I can find them more relatable and easier to understand in the way they speak and act. However, for me, Angel Sister defies the stereotype I have set for historical fiction novels and makes me see them in a new light. I find Kate Merritt, the main character, to be extremely relatable to my life in many ways. Kate’s parents, Nadine and Victor, used to be madly in love as young teenagers, but have almost fallen out of love because of Victor’s addiction to alcohol. Neither of my parents drink, but I can relate to the way Kate is worried about her parent’s relationship. My parents divorced during the summer between 4^th and 5^th grade and before that I had to go through the experience of watching my parents fall out of love, which was really hard for me to handle, just like it is for Kate.

The writing in this book is simple in nature, but complex at heart. It’s not a difficult book to read, although sometimes I don’t understand everything having to do with the time period so I have to Google it to understand, but after that it makes sense. In the book, Kate finds a little girl, Lorena Birdsong, abandoned outside the church during the summer. Lorena’s parents have left her because of their dire financial situation and had hoped someone, an “angel”, would take her in. Lorena tells Kate that she has to be an angel, because she came to her and if she isn’t then no one will ever come to help her because her mom had told her that an angel would only come if she sat there and didn’t cry, but she couldn’t help but cry. Kate knows that she isn’t a real angel, but she feels like she could be a big sister and still help Lorena. She takes her home, and that’s where the real storyline begins. It made me think of what I would do in that situation. Would I take Lorena home too? Would I try to find someone else to help? Would I have left her there because I didn’t know what to do? While I hope I would do one of the first two options, it really made think.

Although it’s more of a children’s book, the plot in this book actually reminds me of the Samantha book series from American Girl that I read when I was younger. In that series, Samantha becomes friends with an orphan, Nellie, and eventually Samantha’s aunt and uncle take Nellie and her sisters in. That reminds me of Angel Sister because in both stories a girl who is abandoned is taken in by strangers and ends up drastically changing their lives.

The author, Ann Gabhart, creates the character of fourteen year old Kate from the very start with a very bold personality. She’s independent and does what needs to be done. However, she is also very caring and is the most concerned about the financial depression they are experiencing and her father’s addiction to alcohol. Overall, Angel Sister comes out with a strong beginning and leaves me wanting more. I’m well along in the book and I’m planning on finishing the book when I drive to North Carolina in two weeks and I look forward to writing another reader response in August.

Reader Response #2:

I am proud of my achievement of finishing the book Angel Sister, but also am sad in a sense that I finished. Honestly, when I first had to pick a book, every single book I looked at I found something wrong with. “I don’t like the time period. I don’t like the character’s personality. I don’t like the author’s style of writing. I don’t like the plot.” When I finally picked to read Angel Sister, I felt like I had just settled on it, just to have finally settled on a book that I thought would be “okay”.  I didn’t really think I would enjoy it as much as I did, and I thought it was going to be one of those things that I would just have to muddle through. However, I am pleasantly surprised with my choice, and it definitely exceeded my expectations, considering how low I had set them.  Even if I had set my expectations very high though, I still feel that they would’ve been exceeded.

There are quite a few types of people that I would recommend this book too. This is a Christian-centered book, so it would most likely appeal to Christians. However, I also feel people who follow other religions or no religion at all could still enjoy this book if they are open to experiencing others opinions and points of view. This book would probably appeal mostly to girls and women, but it’s not a 100% female book. Males could also find this book interesting, and I would recommend them to give it a try. People who have struggled with parents who fight and disagree on subjects will be able to relate to the character of Kate and how she deals with her parents. Also, adoptees may find it easier to relate to Lorena, the girl who the Merritts take in and make part of their family after Kate finds her abandoned on the church steps. Fans of Romeo and Juliet might also enjoy this book because Kate’s parents, Nadine and Victor, have parents who never liked the idea of them dating throughout school, and were not pleased at the fact of their marriage, especially Nadine’s dad who was appalled.  If you like reading about the time period of the Great Depression, it might also be a good read. Even if you don’t fit into one of these criteria, I think the majority of people can find at least one aspect that they find interesting or can relate to in some way.

My favorite parts of the book were where it was from Kate’s point of view and also involved Lorena somehow. I found those parts the most interesting to read and the most relatable overall. I liked the way Kate appeared just like any other fourteen year old girl and struggled with some of the same things we face today. I feel like Lorena added another level to the story and added to the overall success of the story. She shined a new light on the Merritt family, and really made them come together as one, instead of separate as they appeared to be before she came into their lives. Even through the hard times and the toll the depression took on their family, as well as Kate’s dad struggling with his alcohol addiction, they ended up united.

Personally, I didn’t care for the parts where they had flashbacks of Nadine’s and Victor’s past. It talked about how they met each other and began to develop feelings for each other. It also discussed how they fought against what their parents wanted, and how they got married, as well as the beginning stages of their relationship. Once I had been hooked on the story of Kate, I didn’t want to go back in time. I wanted to stay right where I was and continue with the story. I can be an impatient person and I didn’t like having to wait to continue with the main plot point. I found the flashbacks important to the plotline, but not essential. I didn’t hate them and I can understand why Ann Gabhart added them in, but they just weren’t my thing. However, they weren’t a deal breaker and didn’t ruin the overall experience for me.

Overall, I found Angel Sister highly enjoyable. It changed my perspective on historical fiction and made me more open to other options. I think I might look into other novels by Ann Gabhart now, and will hopefully enjoy those just as much.