A Different Sun by Elaine Neil Orr

Title: A Different Sun: A Novel of Africa

Author: Elaine Neil Orr

Genre: Fiction

Synopsis: A young woman raised on her parents' southern slave-holding plantation travels to Africa as a missionary. The story is based loosely on the writings of missionaries Lurana Davis Bowen and Thomas Jefferson Bowen.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed reading this novel. I haven't read many books set in Africa and I'm really glad I grabbed this one off the shelf! I loved following the protagonist, Emma, as she grew up on a plantation in Georgia, became a missionary in Africa, and began her family. 

Emma is a character I found myself rooting for as she figures out life in a new country on a new continent. She is an unconventional woman living in the mid-to-late 1800s who wants more from life than to inherit her father's plantation. As you may notice, I love a good, strong, female lead.

 While most of the story is from Emma's point of view, we get the perspective of a few other main characters throughout the story as well. This allows for well-developed characters and helps the reader get a better understanding of life missionaries and native people in Africa.

The story takes unexpected turns, keeping the reader engaged and wanting more. If you are looking for something different, interesting, and with an ending that makes you wonder, this novel is a great choice.

To buy this book from amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.

To see more from Elaine Neil Orr, visit her Amazon site linked above.

King's Mountain by Sharyn McCrumb

Title: King's Mountain: A Ballad Novel
Author: Sharyn McCrumb
Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: A battle of the American Revolutionary War from as told from the perspective of residents of Appalachia who decide to fight on the side of the American rebels to defend their land, and an officer of the English forces. The characters are based on McCrumb's ancestors, whom she researched for this work.

My Thoughts

I really wanted to like this book, I was excited to hear about The Revolutionary War from a new perspective as I read the inside of the book jacket. Unfortunately, I just could not get into it. 

The author provides an immense amount of backstory on two men, Col. John Seiver, and Major Patrick Ferguson. The main chapters are told from the perspective of Col. Seiver, one chapter is told from Major Ferguson's perspective while the rest of Ferguson's story is told from the perspective of a young woman servant. To provide all this background information McCrumb moves back and forth between past and present, often without warning. The lack of transition feels awkward when trying to figure out what is occurring in the story. In addition, the fact that the story rarely comes back to this in-depth background leaves the reader wondering why the first 200 pages were important at all.

About 200 pages in is where I started to get interested in the story because it was finally moving forward. I was still finding myself having to re-read pages that lost my attention as the militia wandered trying to find Major Ferguson's army. The great number non-descript of characters makes keeping track of who is who quite difficult.
All-in-all, this one was just not for me. If you have read it and experienced it differently, please feel free to comment below and share your insight!


To buy this book from amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from Sharyn McCrumb, visit her website linked above.

2016 Reading Challenge

I found this on PopSugar, and I want to see how many I can get! Follow the link to find a larger version. See if you can get all of these in 2016! Let me know how your challenge is going in the comments below.