This is the first novel in the A Place to Call Home series by Cathleen Armstrong. I really enjoyed this story about Lainie, who unfortunately is the sort of character this modern society is all too familiar with. Abused by her mother's boyfriend and then kicked out by her mother at 14 for making up such false accusations, Lainie is left to make it on her own and, as is so often the case, she falls in with the wrong crowd. Now Lainie, as a young woman, has the chance to flee her dangerous boyfriend. She drives away from the Bay and heads across the desert towards the sanctuary of her friend, only to find her car breaks down and she is temporarily held up in Last Chance, where her life is turned around by God demonstrating His love through the local town's folk. This is a story of salvation and redemption. A good read and maybe challenging to us in how we treat strangers.

This is the first novel in the A Place to Call Home series by Cathleen Armstrong. I really enjoyed this story about Lainie, who unfortunately is the sort of character this modern society is all too familiar with. Abused by her mother's boyfriend and then kicked out by her mother at 14 for making up such false accusations, Lainie is left to make it on her own and, as is so often the case, she falls in with the wrong crowd. Now Lainie, as a young woman, has the chance to flee her dangerous boyfriend. She drives away from the Bay and heads across the desert towards the sanctuary of her friend, only to find her car breaks down and she is temporarily held up in Last Chance, where her life is turned around by God demonstrating His love through the local town's folk. This is a story of salvation and redemption. A good read and maybe challenging to us in how we treat strangers.