In my review of Catherine Marshall’s novel “Christy,” I mentioned that Christy was actually Catherine’s mother, and the book is largely based on her experiences as told to Catherine later in life. “Julie” is to some extent based on real life as well, this time relying on Catherine’s own memories of growing up, although this book is not nearly as true to the real events as “Christy” is.
We open “Julie” to find the title character, a girl nearly eighteen years old, riding along in the family car on her way to Alderton, Pennsylvania, a small town she’s never seen before where her father has just purchased a floundering newspaper. Her mother is stoic about the move, and her little brother and sister are excited, but Julie doesn’t know how she feels. Her father has been in poor health ever since he resigned from the ministry, and she feels that this move will be good for him, but what will the future hold for her?
On the way to Alderton, the car slides off the road and Julie’s father hits his head on the steering wheel. Julie spots a building up ahead and runs for help, slipping in the mud and arriving breathless and filthy, to come face to face with Randolph Wilkinson, a charming Englishman about seven years her senior. He comes to her rescue and sets the family on the road again, permanently stamping his face on Julie’s mind.
As the family starts up the newspaper, they begin to see that running it will be more of a challenge than they thought. With the Depression going on, most families have cut back to the most basic of necessities, and a newspaper subscription just isn’t on their list of must-have’s. Julie’s father begins to despair that they will ever make a go of it, but a new friend named Dean comes in to the office and offers his services for free, and along with the deal, lends the newspaper the money it needs to get off the ground.
As Julie makes friends at school and gets involved in the church youth group, she starts to feel that perhaps she can make a place for herself in Alderton after all. But as she goes around collecting stories for the newspaper, a doubt begins to form in her mind: is the dam that was built above the town really safe? Randolph Wilkinson may hold the answer to that, and she sets out to gather the facts and find out for herself, but she doesn’t realize what those answers will do to her family and the newspaper.
While I didn’t enjoy this book as much as “Christy,” (it would be near impossible for me to enjoy any book as much as I did “Christy”) it was a very enjoyable read, especially as we grow to know Dean better and to learn what makes him the man that he is. The romance is sweet and breathtaking, and the characters are genuine and intriguing. Perhaps what makes this book most interesting is that it was written largely with the help of Catherine’s husband Leonard, and was published after her passing.
(This book was first published in 1985 by Avon Books.)