Book Review: Ever Faithful

Karen Barnett
WaterBrook, 2019
352 pages

Publisher Description:

A man who can’t read will never amount to anything–or so Nate Webber believes. But he takes a chance to help his family by signing up for the new Civilian Conservation Corps, skirting the truth about certain “requirements.” Nate exchanges the harsh Brooklyn streets for the wilds of Yellowstone National Park, curious if the Eden-like wonderland can transform him as well.

Elsie Brookes was proud to grow up as a ranger’s daughter, but she longs for a future of her own. After four years serving as a maid in the park’s hotels, she still hasn’t saved enough money for her college tuition. A second job, teaching a crowd of rowdy men in the CCC camp, might be the answer, but when Elsie discovers Nate’s secret, it puts his job as camp foreman in jeopardy. Tutoring leads to friendship and romance, until a string of suspicious fires casts a dark shadow over their relationship. Can they find answers before all of their dreams go up in smoke?

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Thanks to the publisher for sending me a complimentary copy of Ever Faithful. I was not obligated to write a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a great book! I really enjoyed Ever Faithful, from the first page to the last. I can’t believe that I had never heard of Karen Barnett and her series of historical novels centered around national parks. As someone who really enjoys nature and outdoor activities like hiking, this is great literary fit for me and I’m excited to share this series with everyone I talk to from now on.

There were several things that really stuck out to me about Ever Faithful. The first is that I’m pretty sure I’ve never read a book where one of the main characters has a learning challenge like Nate Webber does. It was cool to see Elsie fall in love with someone like that and build him up as a smart person who happens to struggle with reading. Readers will recognize pretty quickly that he has dyslexia, but during the time that this story is set that wasn’t something people really knew much about. Nate was labeled as being stupid because no one knew that his intelligence was separate from his ability to process the written word.

The second thing I really liked is that I really didn’t see the end coming. Throughout the book there are several incidences of arson, which is significant for several different reasons, but I definitely didn’t guess who the arsonist was. I think everyone likes a mystery with a little twist and this book had that.

My third favorite thing was the setting. The park really becomes a character all it’s own. There are so many people employed by the park system and the culture there and the passion all these people feel for Yellowstone is really interesting to read about. Yellowstone has been a bucket list stop for me for a long time. Now when I finally do get to visit I think I’ll be able to see it with different eyes than I would have before reading Ever Faithful. It really is a fantastic story that explores a fascinating part of history. I can’t wait to read the rest of the books in this series! I mentioned the first book, The Road to Paradise, in my books in progress post earlier this month, and I would encourage you to check it out as well.