I Love to Tell the Story

Title: I Love to Tell the Story
Author: Faith Blum
Collection: Librarians of Willow Hollow, book 2
Major Themes: Librarians, Appalachian Mountains, Faith
Synopsis: When her family finances start to struggle during the Depression, Lillian decides to become a horseback librarian to help supplement their income.

I was excited when the Librarians of Willow Hollow collection all started at $.99 per book! I bought all of them then, but it took a while to get to I Love to Tell the Story. Having read two of the four books before this, I wasn’t surprised by the setting, but what I was surprised at was how far the main character had to travel to get to the job. As I’ve grown to expect from Blum’s books, while I struggled with the plot and characters not having a huge amount of depth, it was a lovely story by the end. And it complemented the rest of the collection beautifully.

Lillian longs to share Jesus with others, but she’s scared. Then there’s the problem of the family finances—they desperately need more money, but her father is bringing in all he can. Is there anything she can do to help? The answer comes somewhat unexpectedly—through a friend who heard of a situation. But it was across the country, and the way there was a long, tedious train ride. With the blessing of her father, Lillian sets off to try to bring books and the Lord to the mountain people outside of Willow Hollow. The way is difficult, though, and she finds it much harder to talk than she thought. Is there any way to fulfill her real mission after all?

I Love to Tell the Story isn’t the most exciting book ever, but it does have some very good examples of learning to love people who don’t want to be loved, and how to reach out to those who don’t want to be reached. Lillian’s struggles were very real and understandable, and I appreciated seeing the gentle way the story unfolded. If you like reading historical fiction, or have children interested in the Packhorse Librarian era, check this book out. It’s another good one! I’d love to have this collection in print one day.

WARNING: “Golly” is used twice and “hotdog” is used as an exclamation ch. 15.

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Hearts on Lonely Mountain A Strand of Hope Waves of Mercy Legacy of Mercy