Since I haven't yet finished a book since the last one I posted about, I'll use this opportunity to catch up on posting about one of the books I read during this blog's dark period. Last winter, shortly before everything shut down, I read a book that I still sometimes think about: Light Changes Everything by Nancy E. Turner. This is historical fiction, set in Arizona Territory (before statehood), starting in 1907. This setting is part of what caught my interest, since I don't think I've read a single book set in Arizona Territory. (Possibly I haven't read any books set in modern Arizona, either, though I've visited once or twice about two decades ago...)
Anyway, Light Changes Everything follows Mary Pearl Prine, the 17-year-old daughter of a small farmer who manages to gain acceptance to Wheaton College in far off, glamorous Illinois, by virtue of her drawings. She turns down a wealthy suitor to pursue this opportunity, though life at college is not as she imagined it would be. However, when she returns home for Christmas vacation, she's faced with some surprising changes there, too. In fact, Mary Pearl is faced with rather more than her fair share of challenges and difficulties, but she has character and grit and self-respect to guide her way.
So far, I maybe haven't done justice to this book--the disadvantage of writing about it so long after having read it. But I'm still thinking about it all these months after reading it, which says a lot. I don't read a lot of historical fiction, but this one has really remained in my mind. If you like historical fiction or novels with strong female protagonists, it's definitely worth a look.
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