Book Review–The Thomas Sisters

About the Book:

Book: The Thomas Sisters

Author: Kathryn Spurgeon

Genre: Historical Fiction

Release date: August 29, 2024

Five tightknit sisters. Five interwoven stories. One book.

Based on the true lives of closely connected sisters.

As the harsh winds of the 1930s Dust Bowl strip the Oklahoma ground of its fertile soil, and the Great Depression becomes imminent, the Thomas sisters struggle to hold onto their families, their faith, and one another. To survive their storms, they must let go of their secrets and grief and trust in the strength of sisterhood. Based on true stories.

My Thoughts:

This is a very interesting way of telling the story of a family. Each of the five sisters has her own novella, and all are interconnected. The stories are told in order of age, with the oldest coming first. Each of the ladies had unique challenges, strengths and weaknesses. They all dearly loved each other and their families and stuck together through hard times.  I enjoyed reading this book, especially when I realized that it was closely based on the author’s grandmother and her sisters. It is not a sweet, fun read, though. Twice there are descriptions of the death of a child, a drunken man abuses his wife and sons, a man molests a girl, and another is seen molesting a boy. This is definitely a book for adults rather than children.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Kathryn Spurgeon, an Illumination Award-winning author, publishes inspirational, historical novels based on true events. Her novels include the Promise Series, and the Thomas Sister Series, both set in the 1930s in Oklahoma. She also writes and publishes devotionals, nonfiction, and poetry. A native Oklahoman, as a married teenager, Kathryn spent two years in South Korea where she adopted two babies. She and her husband have six children and eighteen muti-racial grandchildren.

More from Kathryn:

Old Fashioned Dark Fruit Cake

1 cup sugar

1 cup shortening

1 egg

1 3/4 cups flour

1 pkg mincemeat

2/3 cup molasses

1 cup cold coffee

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup pecans

1 1/2 cups raisins

Mix sugar, shortening, and egg until fluffy. Add flour, mincemeat, and molasses. Add soda to the cold coffee, then add to mix. Add vanilla, pecans, and raisins. (Instead of raisins, or also, I use candied cherries, candied pineapple and dates cut up.) Cook 300 degrees for two hours in an angel food cake pan. Put a cookie sheet under the pan. Cook on bottom rack.

Aunt Til loved to make fruitcake. The recipe has been in the family for over 120 years.

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