Kelly Tyree's Reviews > Under This Same Sky

Under the Same Sky was one of my favorite books of 2017. It is a moving story about Becky Hollister. Becky and her father lose their home and Becky's mother and sister when a tornado rips through the prairie. Becky's father is injured and loses his sight as a result of the injury.

Matthew Brody is the circuit riding preacher that services their community. When he finds Becky and the devastating situation her and her father are in, he dives in to help. He lays her mother and sister to rest and he works to help gather the community to rebuild their home. As he is doing this, he gets a fresh look at Becky. She is not the young girl he remembers, but a beautiful woman that he feels drawn to.

Becky begins to live temporarily with her aunt and uncle. Becky's father learns of a school for the blind in St. Louis that can help him learn a trade so that he can take care of himself and Becky. He decides to go for a year and leave Becky to live with her aunt and uncle. Headstrong Becky has other plans and stows herself in the back of the covered wagon. When Matthew and her father discover Becky, they do not have the heart to turn around. On the trip to St. Louis Becky and Matthew begin to develop feelings for one another. Matthew begins to wonder if Becky could become the preacher's wife he has been searching for. Becky and Matthew begin to correspond with one another through letters.

Becky's relationship with God has suffered due to all that she has lost. When Matthew gives her his Bible, she begins to renew her relationship with God. As Becky and her father remain in St. Louis Becky transforms. At first her goal was to return to her home on the prairie and she could not imagine being happy anywhere else. But her goals and her plans change as she begins to work in the blind school that her father attends. She makes friends and begins to see God's hand working.

Matthew is excited to be offered a church in the community that Becky is to return to. He is hoping she can minister to the community right along side her. Becky and Matthew's relationship goes through much testing in the book but despite that, God is working on both of them. As Becky realizes that God may be asking her to sacrifice the one goal and dream that she has, can she do it and still be fulfilled. Will God provide an alternative in time?

This book is so well written. I was so engaged in Becky's story. She is a remarkable character. The book also has humorous situations and misunderstandings that add to the story. I loved the supporting characters in the book as well. The ending of the book was amazing. I cannot say enough good things about Under the Same Sky, it was moving, it was engaging, and it was hopelessly romantic. I hope for many more books by Cynthia Roemer, she has a new fan in me.