A Proper Pursuit by Lynn Austin
Description: It seems a perfect backdrop for what Violet Hayes longs to experience: a little mystery, a little romance.
To be honest, it is more than a little mystery. She schemed her way to Chicago to discover the mother she barely remembered. As for romance…well, with the help of her grandmother and three great aunts, that is coming along nicely as well--perhaps too well. Each of her relatives--including her saintly grandmother--seems to have a separate agenda for her.
In the course of a summer, Violet's world will open wide before her eyes. But in the wake of discovery, she must find a way to determine which path--and which man--will ultimately be the right lifetime choice for her.
Author Information: Lynn Austin, a former teacher who now writes and speaks full time, has won three Christy Awards for her historical fiction. One of those novels, Hidden Places, has also been made into a Hallmark Channel movie. Lynn and her husband have raised three children and make their home near Chicago, Illinois.
My Review:
This book was just the right balance of humor and romance and mystery! I couldn't stop reading it. In the beginning Violet is all about being a proper young woman who misleads her family into letting her go to stay with her grandmother in Chicago. While claiming she wants to see the world fair, her main goal is to find her missing mother whose disappearance is a big family secret that no one will discuss with her.
While in Chicago her aunts and grandmother take her on many different adventures and introduce her to all kinds of people. She experiences both the luxury of the upper class and the devistation of those struggling to survive. She meets and spends time with 4 very different young men whose attentions push her to question her understanding of love and what is important in life. Her personal observations about these suitors are quite entertaining.
I enjoyed watching Violet grow and change as the summer progresses. One evening when she attends a rally with her Aunt Birdie who is not always living in the present, Birdie wanders off and Violet experiences horrible fear as she searches for her. Her relief is overwhelming when she finally finds her. This search for her aunt becomes a sweet symbol to her as the speaker at the rally shares of God's endless pursuit of our love. Violet realizes, "God loved me! It seemed so amazing. God felt as anxious and determined to find me as I had been to find poor, lost Aunt Birdie. He would search for me to bring me home to himself just as diligently as I was searching for my mother. He wouls search as hard as Grandmother had search for hear, as hard as Father had searched for his brother in all of Chicago's saloons. God loved me that much." I loved that part of the book!
I give this book my sunny day review and highly recommend it!
