Janette Oke's When Calls the Heart is the first installment in her Canadian West series. When the book begins, Elizabeth is a schoolteacher in civilized Toronto. Then her half-brother Jonathon asks her to come all the way to Calgary to teach. Elizabeth reluctantly agrees, but puts her foot down when Jonathon teases about finding her a husband. She is determined never to marry a rough frontier man! Then she meets Wynn - and falls for his deep blue eyes at first sight. But love is never easy on the frontier, as Elizabeth soon discovers.
Pros: This is a pro-life book! Little Andy, the darling mentally challenged boy in Elizabeth's school, is a beautiful example of how special needs people touch everyone around them. I'm also a big fan of Wynn. Elizabeth's animal experiences are hilarious!
Cons: Elizabeth is eerily similar to Marty in Love Comes Softly. I don't really like Janette Oke's style of writing. There's one scene where someone says there's no such thing as a "big" or a "little" sin. The Catholic Church teaches that this idea is wrong - while God died for all of our sins (not just the big ones) and all sins can be forgiven, a white lie only corrodes a person's relationship with God. Something drastic (like a murder) empties the person of God's grace.
My Rating: OK (thematic elements)
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