Touching the Sky by Tracie Peterson
Reviewed by: Elizabeth Olmedo
Genre: Christian, Romance
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date: June 2012
Laura Marquardt and Colonel Brandon Reid have a rough first meeting, but it doesn’t take them long to warm up to each other. The war between the states has ended, but life for the blacks is still far from ideal. Laura dreams of starting a school to educate them and improve their chances of finding work and a better life. Brandon, who is an officer over colored troops, supports her plans.
However, when Laura’s younger sister marries a confederate soldier, hidden agendas complicate matters and Brandon’s pursuit of the eldest Marquardt comes into question. Laura realizes she may only be a pawn in a much bigger conspiracy.
Touching the Sky is a story of love, betrayal, and hope set to the backdrop of post-civil war Texas. Tracie Peterson presents some of the perils and obstacles faced by a country struggling to recover and reconcile from a conflict that divided it.
While I enjoyed reading the novel, it didn’t reach its full potential. The characters felt flat. Their dialogue seemed unnatural and awkward, as though they said what was correct and expected rather than what they actually thought. I failed to experience the emotions one would anticipate at any given moment. This spilled over to their faith as well.
That being said, the pages flew. The author managed to keep my interest enough to want to know what would happen next. Although Laura often went about doing the right thing in the wrong way, I still rooted for her. Her heart was in the right place even when she demonstrated a lack of wisdom or naivety in how she handled different situations.
Peterson deals with issues such as spousal abuse and slavery and while she doesn’t delve into details, it could raise questions in young readers. As long as parents are willing to discuss these topics with their children, they shouldn’t have a problem reading it. Touching the Sky is a nice story for historical fiction fans.
Rated PG: Spousal abuse and slavery are discussed.
Review copy provided by the publisher. Thank you!
Elizabeth Olmedo
Elizabeth (REQUEST QUEEN & PUBLISHER RELATIONS GURU) is one of those people who wants to be and do many (not always compatible) things in life. However, as one who belongs to the race that only gets one life (lucky cats get 9!), she makes up for it by reading and writing. Thankfully, books allow her to be anything and anyone—no questions asked!
Fiction is her absolute favorite. Whether getting lost in a good book or creating one herself, they usually belong to the mystery/suspense/romance genres. Elizabeth can often be found with a good ole classic in hand—Jane Austen being her hero and Mr. Darcy the love of her life.
A graduate of Bethel College with an English degree under her belt, Elizabeth is back home in Spain, but dreaming of living in Israel. She is an English teacher and hopes to someday be a published novel writer. Other hobbies include watching movies (or any other activity that pulls you into a good plot) and learning Hebrew. Elizabeth can also be found on Fiction Addict.
