Tracie Peterson – Dawn’s Prelude, historical fiction, Alaska fiction, christian, love, hope
Dawn’s Prelude was disappointing because again I lost a lot of sleep, it was that good! I recommend this novel. Surprising and full of hard questions about life and tragedy, the book is beautifully written.
I’ve not read a Tracie Peterson novel before so I didn’t have any assumptions to go off of. Truthfully I expected a leisurely read. You know the ones; those novel’s I’ve been known to call “soft reads” or “summer reads”. Dawn’s Prelude was anything but. At first I was disappointed, not because I didn’t like the book but because I was expecting to catch up on some sleep after reading Eyes of Elisha. The first, second, third, fourth chapter into the novel I finally dragged myself to bed. Poor hubby I’d said “one chapter Hon, then I’ll can sleep”!
Set primarily in the serene landscape of Sitka Alaska, early 1800’s. Lydia, a young widow moves away from her cruel step children to be with her Aunt Zerelda. Her past continues to hold her back. Will she ever be free?
Zee was one of my favorite characters. A plucky Christian lady who “gets along fine” on her own! She provides answers to many of the difficult questions Lydia poses. I love how Tracie Peterson used this character instead of author’s voice or simply leaving questions unanswered.
There was a point in the middle of the novel where I thought, “we are about to walk a fine line between believability and soap opera reality” but as soon as I thought it the purpose for certain events became clear and I was once again swept away by the beauty and connectivity of the writing.
The diversity of the characters kept me spellbound. There are characters of Swedish origin, Russian and even Tlingit Indians. I found myself chanting the Swedish dialogue in sing song and could almost hear the Russian voices as well.
Well done Tracie, I can’t wait to pick up the next novel in this series!
Amazingly, I WON Dawn’s Prelude through a blog giveaway. Thank you to Jolanth!