Wandering Hearts

By Donna J. Grisanti

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0970886098
• ISBN13: 9780970886095
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: Phoenix Publishing Corp.
• Length: 644 Pages
• Weight: 1.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.3" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

This is a terrific WW II historical drama

During the latter stages of the Depression, orphaned eighteen year old Raine Foster lived with her beloved grandmother Just before WW II broke out, Raine's grandma died. Her choice is simple to marry a nasty Silas Marner type of scrooge. She refuses to even consider that option, instead she decides she must leave and takes with her two younger cousins. The trio fakes their deaths so no one follows them. On their trek, they meet Touhy, who offers no surname; he feels sorry for the pathetic threesome so begins to mentor them in living safely on the road as he takes them under his wings. However, he panics when he realizes how much he likes Raine so he initially flees, but he returns to see them settled, which he succeed doings on an apple farm with Chinese-American China Joe. When the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, the locals attack the farm to get at China Joe, but no one is hurt. Touhy leaves to join the military while Raine and China Joe marry. However, Joe loves wealthy Mayleen Walters while Raine loves Touhy. This is a terrific WW II historical drama that provides fans with a strong look at what was going on at home. Interestingly the focus of the entertaining plot is while Americans of all races were volunteering or being drafted, racism still prevailed in the States. Readers will enjoy observing life (and death) at the farm although the complexities of who is with whom at the end cleans up perhaps to easily. Donna J. Grisanti provides a warm character driven 1940s tale in which "every heart needs a home" filled with loving caring people regardless of race, religion, origin, or sexual preference. Harriet Klausner

Wonderful people watching

This is a well-written cross between chic lit and a Christian historical novel. A must-read for the history of a group of people who band together for better or worse, even though they aren't tethered by familial relations. This epic novel centers on Raine Foster, who loses her parents and grandmother during the early 1940s, somewhere in the Southwest, where apples can grow, but it still rains and snows occasionally. We never really know where the characters are in the scheme of the States, but that is the only distraction in the novel. Raine Foster takes in her two cousins whom her grandmother agreed to take when their parents died. To avoid an unpleasant marriage to a money-hoarding drunk, 18-year-old Raine Foster and her two younger cousins plan their death and disappear to a town miles from where they were. On the hobo path they run into Touhy, a gentleman who takes them under his wing. When he realizes he's getting to close to Raine, he disappears, but comes right back to check on her and the children. He finally gets them established, pretending to be all related as cousins, working on an apple farm with China Joe. He's a Chinese man who never was given the chance to tell anyone his real name. They thrive there as workers. But when Pearl Harbor is attacked, the townspeople react to China Joe's Asian ancestry with anger and fire. Thankfully, not much is burned and the story of Touhy and the Foster's lie of being cousins is protected. Touhy enlists for the fight of his life, leaving Raine to marry Chen Yoa Goa, who is actually in love with the town's wealthiest daughter, Mayleen Walters. Raine encourages the relationship between her husband and Walters, even though Raine suffers with the fact that she loves Touhy and gets no physical intimacy with Chen. Along with the Fosters and Walters are the O. Martins, a black couple who have served the Walters for years. Through drama, death, pregnancy and hidden agendas, the apple farm thrives and all turns out well when Walters dies, as does her brother Arlen. Armchair Interviews says: This is an amazing book of courage and tenacity.

didn't want to put it down...

I just got this book on a lark, because I read a lot of historical fiction. At first I was intimidated by the length - over 600 pages - but the story and characters are so full that I ended up wishing it were longer. Its about a young woman in the 1930s who runs away from her home, because she is nearly forced to marry the richest man in town who is a drunk and abusive. Before she can get out, she has two orphaned cousins given to her. She takes the kids and plans her escape. On her way to their new town and life, she gets shot and beat up, but still manages to keep it all together. This is because she is befriended by a fellow traveler, Touhy. He stays with them for their safety and they become close friends as they settle in to the new town. The war takes him away, but not before they are taken in and work for a man with an apple orchard. While Touhy is gone, there's all kind of things going on in this small Southern town: feuds, drunkenness, gossip, and murder. I enjoyed the character of the town doctor and his struggle to overcome the loss of his wife and child. I also like how the author deals with racism in this era. It's really a nice story. I laughed and cried and didn't want to put it down.