The Denniston Rose by Jenny Pattrick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Damn Denniston
Damn the track
Damn the way both there and back
Damn the wind and damn the weather
God damn Denniston altogether
J.T. Ward 1884
Last time I was on the West Coast, we went for a drive and my sister pointed out the site of Denniston perched high in the hills. As beautiful as the West Coast is, it is also a challenging, wet environment.
To this most inhospitable place came the fictional characters of the fierce Evangeline and her daughter, five year old Rose. Why did they come? Certainly no one would travel up the Incline in a storm and travel up a wagon on the tracks by choice!
The opening scenes of their arrival up The Incline is one of the best I have ever read and had me hungry to read more. I was totally enthralled by Rose (nicknamed Rose of Tralee by her new Denniston friends) and her strong will to survive and triumph. Rose’s flaws (among other things Rose is[ light fingered stop her becoming a Mary Sue character, her story is by turn inspiring and harrowing – I kept praying what was foreshadowed wouldn’t happen to this little girl.
Loved the ending and I now want to read the sequel Heart of Coal
I am already certain this will be one of my favourite reads in 2020.
Carol - She's So Novel! 