What Momma Left Behind by Cindy K. Sproles

Hello.  I hope you have had a great week.  A Walk Along the Beach by Debbie Macomber will be out on July 14 along with What You Wish For by Katherine Center.  Witches and Wedding Cake by Bailey Cates releases July 28 as well as Tea and Treachery by Vicki Delany and Piece by Piece by Laura Bradford.  A Charming Deception by Tonya Kappes publishes on July 30.  It is the 13th A Magical Cures Mystery.  Which book(s) are you looking forward to reading?

What Momma Left Behind by Cindy K. Sproles takes us to Sourwood Mountain, Tennessee in 1877.  Worie Dressar has just finished burying her mother with the aid of neighbor and friend, Ely Merrell.  Worie has little time to mourn because three children show up looking for her mother, Miss Louise.  The three children lost their parents to illness that is plaguing the people of the mountain.  Worie learns that her mother has been secretly giving the children food and they are not the only ones.  Worie takes in the orphans and other soon join them.  But then Worie’s good-for-nothing brother, Calvin shows up demanding an old jar of their mother’s.  Worie has no intention of turning it over to him.  Calvin proceeds to take the cabin and then steals two of the children.  With the aid of Pastor Jess, Worie works to reclaim her home and the children. 

What Momma Left Behind by Cindy K. Sproles’s is the authors third novel.  The author takes readers to the Appalachian Mountains in the late 1870s.  Worie Dressar loses her mother, her home and security in a short span of time.  Influenza and typhoid are afflicting the residents of the mountain leaving numerous people dead.  Worie had dreams of becoming a teacher, but there was no way she could leave her mother alone to care for the farm.   Her brother, Justice took to drink after their father passed.  Her other brother, Calvin is a greedy man who is also a liar and a conniver.  Thankfully, Worie has good friends in Ely and Bess Merrell.  She then meets Pastor Jess who will prove invaluable in helping Worie.  I thought the author captured the speech of the Appalachian people along with the living conditions and their struggles.  Worie is a simple person with a limited education which is evident from her speech and knowledge.  Worie’s mother was a woman of great faith, but it is something Worie has struggled with despite her mother’s teachings.  I thought What Momma Left Behind was a slow starter, but, as I got further into the book, I become more engrossed.  I wanted to find out how the story would play out.  There were some interesting surprises along the way.  I appreciated the epilogue which nicely wrapped up the book.  The story is told in the first-person from Worie’s point-of-view.  It gives the reader an opportunity to really understand this feisty young woman.  Worie is only seventeen at the beginning when she begins taking in the orphans.  I just loved Pastor Jess who kept popping up when you least expected him.  Worie has a great deal to learn and understand.  Her spirited nature will stand her in good stead, but Worie does need to control her temper.  The one thing I did not like was how the book started.  I just found it off-putting which made it hard for me to get into the story.  I wish the author had put that scene in the second chapter. Faith plays a big part of the story.  There are scripture passages along with religious talks. What Momma Left Behind is an interesting historical novel that gives readers a glimpse at what life was like for residents of the Appalachian Mountains in the late 1870s.  

What Momma Left Behind is available from Amazon*.  You can find a list of other sellers here.  Thank you for reading my review.  Tomorrow I am featuring Never an Amish Bride by Ophelia London.  It is the first novel in the Honey Brook series and it will be out on June 30.  I hope you have perky day.  Take care, stay safe, and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

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