All Things New

The Civil War has ended and the people living in the south must come to grips with the loss of loved ones, property damage, and accept that life has changed dramatically. Slaves are now servants and have to adjust to their new freedoms. Many plantations must be rebuilt. Society will never be the

Show More

same. At one point, someone sums the core issue in this way, "We have to show our sons and daughters that the old South was destroyed because it was flawed and that we're willing to embrace the changes." This book really brought out the difficulties faced in the aftermath of the Civil War. Sadly, this took place in 1865 and one hundred years later, African Americans were still struggling for civil rights. This was an interesting read.

Show Less

I think the only thing I didn't enjoy about this book were some constantly complaining characters near the beginning. Everything else, I was thoroughly interested in. I liked that it switched which characters to follow around each chapter and that they were different perspectives and situations; it

Show More

rounded the story by giving us varying angles. She did a good job of portraying how difficult it can be to change your way of life and your way of thinking suddenly. I also appreciated the religion woven through the book, characters whose faith was strong and others who were searching for it.

Show Less

I received “All Things New” as a Early Review Giveaway. This is the first book by Lynn Austin that I have read and I really enjoyed her characters and their story. Lynn Austin has written a beautiful novel about the Weatherly's. A aristocratic family living on a plantation in Virginia when the

Show More

war changes the former lives that they new. The story begins as the war is drawing to a close. They are forced to pick up the pieces of their broken lives and change their former ways of thinking. Slaves are no longer owned and the family battles through their prejudices, loss of loved ones and the devastation that war has left behind. The eldest daughter Josephine seems to have a easier time of changing her views on slavery and works along side them. Her faith in God however, has wavered, as she feels that all her prayers have gone unanswered. With the help of one remaining servant and an unlikely friendship with a former Yankee soldier, she begins to find peace, faith and love in the war torn south. The rest of her family has endured their own struggles with bitterness and hatred and have a heard time finding peace in their new world. This is a beautifully written novel that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys christian historical fiction. Well done!

Show Less

All Things New is a very enjoyable read and very well written. It takes the reader back to the early days of the Reconstruction era and allows you to watch all sides adjust to a radically new way of thinking in the post-war South. It’s a Christian book without being overly preachy. It’s a

Show More

romance without being to sappy. It’s a morality lesson without unfair demonization. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and will probably read more from Ms. Austin in the future.

Show Less

I found the beginning of this book to be difficult to read. In my opinion, it came off like Gone With the Wind, but whinier and less exciting. However, if you can make it through the first few chapters, All Things New is an interesting and compelling story about a families stuggle to adjust to a

Show More

vastly different life following the civil war. The story of the Weatherly family serves as a microcosm of the struggles the south faced throughout reconstruction. Unlike much of the Christian fiction I have read, Austin's use of religious elements aid the plot, rather than seeming extraneous. Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

Show Less

I enjoyed reading All Things New by Lynn Austin. We all need a feel good, happy ending every now and then. All Things New introduces us to Josephine, Mary, and their mother-Eugenia Weatherly, as they struggle to survive in their beloved South after loosing the Civil War to the Yankees. They have

Show More

suffered the loss of Eugenia's husband and her oldest son Samuel and have been forced to flee their beautiful plantation seeking the safety of the city with family members. Meanwhile one of their slaves, Lizzie, has stayed behind at the Plantation, White Oak, keeping the home as best as she can while watching after her three children wondering if her husband Otis will ever return from the City where he has left with the three Weatherly women. Once Eugenia's youngest son Daniel returns from the war things really begin to heat up. The author did a good job covering a lot of topics related to the ugly aftermath of the Civil War: slavery, plantations, slave owners, family, love, death, injury, bitterness, faith, and friendships. I enjoyed this book and appreciated that the author didn't feel the need to tell me what my beliefs should be on any of the topics mentioned, but rather allowed me to think about what was right and wrong, a glimpse into both sides and how they all were forced to adapt and begin the painful process of allowing change into their lives. Good characters and great content! I enjoyed the fact that the characters didn't simply roll over and change but rather fought for their beliefs but in the end still followed their conscience and allowed right to overcome all the wrongs.

Show Less

All Things New by Lynn Austin (7 time Christy Award winner) takes place during Reconstruction after the Civil War. The story opens as Richmond, VA burns and the south surrenders.

The Weatherly family decides to return to their plantation in Virginia after the war and tries to rebuild their home and

Show More

lives. The slaves have all been freed and the cotton is not yet planted. They try to hold on to their old way of life until it becomes very clear that will no longer work. Josephine realizes they must hire some servants to help with the planting.

The Freedman's Bureau sets up an office in town along with a school for black children. Many of the former slaves are camped out in the woods. How can Alexander, a hated Yankee, help them establish a new life of freedom?

Meanwhile, Daniel Weatherly returns home from the war broken and bitter. He struggles to recover from the horrors of war. His father and older brother have been killed-- complicating his return. Daniel is supposed to be the head of the plantation, but if he isn't working the soil what are they going to do?

I thought Lynn Austin told a good story contrasting bitterness and forgiveness, examining the themes of suffering vs. God's mercy, faith vs. unanswered prayer.

This book will be released on October 1, 2012.

Genre: Christian historical fiction
Pages: 416
Published: Bethany House, 2012
Disclosure: I received a copy of this manuscript from LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.

Show Less

A great story telling of a family trying to restart their life after the Civil War and how they have to change their attitudes about how things are instead of how they used to be. They have to get accustom to the new way of living and changes in relationships.

This was an ER Book that I quite enjoyed. The only part that tripped me up, and I didn't actually notice it until near the end, was the manner of speaking of the former slaves. It was too refined to my way of thinking and for the times and setting. Other than that, the characters were believable

Show More

and I enjoyed the story. The romance wasn't the high point but added a nice touch. I've passed it on to a friend I think will also enjoy it.

Show Less

Lynn Austin's book All Things new was a great read! She has a great way of pulling you right into the story. This book takes place at the end of the Civil War. It describes the drastic change of life that the south had to face after they lost and the slaves where freed. The book really makes you

Show More

think about what it must of been like to live during that time in history. So many things I really had not thought about before. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to read historical fiction.
**I received this book free from Library Thing's Early Reviewers Program in exchange for an honest review.

Show Less

This book I loved. I was so into the book. It surely talks about what life was like once the Civil War ended. The North won. It tell about the south trying to get life back to normal and how they wanted the way it was. This book show you of how some slaves were treated during this time.

It tell a

Show More

story about slave were once they were treated. There another story though as well but it I do not want to give way much. If you enjoy Historical fiction or Histoy of America this is really a good book to read. If you do not read Historical Fiction, I still recommend it you for it something to read and different then your your normal genre. You choose for yourself.

Show Less

I was looking forward to reading this book since the description seemed like it would be told from the slaves point of view. As I read the book I was disappointed to realize it was just another story trying to be Gone with the Wind. I would have liked more about the life of the slaves that had

Show More

stayed behind to take care of the family home. Which they abviuosly considered to be their own or they would not have stayed. Overall it was a somewhat entertaining tale.

Show Less

All Things New is a nice, safe historical fiction novel that takes place during the Reconstruction, a time after the Civil War that was tremendously difficult and chaotic. In this story, the Weatherly’s, a fine, Southern aristocratic family, has lost almost everything that had given them power

Show More

and prestige. The father and eldest son are dead; the freed slaves have deserted, leaving the fields barren, and their palatial home has been ill-used. Eugenia, the mother, plans to forge ahead as though nothing has changed, arranging socially appropriate husbands for her two daughters, making social calls, and taking her meals in the dining room, served up by Lizzie, the mother of the one slave family that stayed behind.

The book gives all different character’s points-of-view, but it is mainly told from the perspective of Josephine, eldest daughter whose plainness is likely leading to a life of spinsterhood. But she’s the only one in the family who can easily accept change, and her forward thinking catches the mind of a Yankee do-gooder named Alexander Chandler.

This book has a good storyline, good characters, and a great message, but the author really needs the lesson on “show, don’t tell.” I like to be able to figure out my characters’ motivations, thoughts, decision making, and changes—not have them told to me by the author. It oversimplifies the story, making it seem like a book for kids. The author needs to trust the reader to come to his/her own conclusions and stop leading them around by the nose. Otherwise, a good story with great potential.

Show Less

Josephine Weatherly is a twenty-two year old living in Virginia with her family just after the Civil War. When her family's plantation is finally safe enough to return to, she, along with her mother and sister, discover that life is not going to be at all like it was before. Most of their slaves

Show More

have left, their fields are empty and their beautiful home is overgrown. Josephine is glad that the war is over and thinks she's ready to pick up the pieces, but a strange Yankee man shows her that's she's still angry at God for how her family has suffered. Will the Weatherly family work together and accept these new changes to survive, or will circumstances tear them completely apart?

The setting of this book was incredibly interesting to me. I never really thought before about how life would be for those privileged families after the war, but it certainly made for a great story.

The characters of this book were multifaceted, so I never got bored with them. Eugenia, Josephine's mother, expects too much out of Lizzie, the only house servant left, but at the same time, she's also a strong woman who loves her family and just wants to keep them together and have things back to normal. Josephine is a sweet girl who wants to help, but she's also stubborn and knows what she wants.

If you like Christian romance, historical fiction, action and heart wrapped all into one, check out this book.

Show Less

I found the author to be very good at descriptions and character development and all the things that make an author "good". Other reviews can comment on the story and developments. What struck me the most was the sense of complete upset. It helped me to envision what complete turn around in

Show More

thinking was required to take in the fact the EVERYTHING had changed for the South. It struck me that this could be metaphor for any of the life changing events for any of us. There is almost no way we could imagine the darkness to light difference in mindset that anyone must go through whether it be at the time of a conversion, or being placed into a new culture or even the death of one or several loved ones through disease of accident. IT emphasizes I think the "gulf" when someone on one side is trying to explain to someone on the other side, how they are feeling or how they see a situation.
Such was the impact that the defeat of the south had on the southerners who were convinced that they COULD not lose, and that GOD was on their side. To try to comprehend and then admit that one COULD have been wrong, seems to me to be the major lesson... Well, that of course plus that Love and the Spirit of God can effect the change that human will or feeling cannot.

Show Less

Loved, loved, loved it!! Lynn Austin does a fantastic job of showing us two perspectives of Virginia plantation life after the Civil War. I had never put much thought into the way both sides were affected. This is a wonderful read, with well-developed characters and a great storyline. I highly

Show More

recommend it.

Show Less

Love the story of post Civil War, liked that it was Christian based. Very well written. This was the first time that I read anything from Lynn Austin but will definitely look for more of her books.

Review also published on my blog: AWordsWorth.blogspot.com
ARC received from publisher for review.

Normally, the Reconstruction period is not my favorite (perhaps because I had a particularly Reconstruction-obsessed prof for that course), but All Things New is a take on things that I really

Show More

appreciated. Beginning just as the Civil War is ending, and Richmond is falling, we see the toll the War has taken on the Weatherly family. This dramatic shift in fortune is made even clearer when they return to their beloved home plantation, and struggle to make ends meet in this new way of living.

What I really liked about Austin's handling of a less-than-prefered time period is that in All Things New, she really is focusing on the new beginnings. How hard it must have been to know only one way of life -- for both the white plantation owners and their newly-freed slaves -- and suddenly have that lifestyle end. Just like that. The adjustment process would have been even more difficult when compounded with the huge losses people suffered during the Civil War. These very real struggles are realistically portrayed, as well as the inner struggles of the main characters. Getting to watch Josephine sort through all her own prejudices and mindsets, dealing with her griefs any way she can, and fighting for the right to recover and start again in her own way -- her story is real, and at times raw. She's human, very human. And that same humanness is seen in the other characters as well: Austin has a wonderfully created cast.

All in all, I finished this book wishing more Reconstruction texts were this interesting, and handled things in a way that focuses so much on the human heart, human recovery, human existence side of things rather than fighting to keep everything politicized (and yes, I know this is fiction. But still.).

Show Less

I received "All Things New" through the early release giveaway. Although I thought there was something missing at the start of the story I enjoyed the rest very much, I felt that I was thrust into the story and that there should have been a little bit that focused on the war coming to a close prior

Show More

to being in the scene with Josephine and Mary. There were several strong characters in this story and I felt that each one of them were equally given a developing place. Each character showed a different view of surviving the horror of a nation that fought against itself. Eugenia portrayed the typical southern attitude, strong and unwilling to bend, pride and desperation to cling to their way of life. Josephine portrayed a mixture of the old south mixed with the knowledge that things have changed and something needs to give in order to be able to face the future. Harrison a soldier who was fortunate to be alive but unfortunate to be wounded and left with the fact that he will never be able to be a "whole" man again. Mary the meek and obedient daughter who does exactly as she is told with no thoughts of her own. The doctor, who once being part of the high society life is thrust into a lower standing due to his mother's marriage to a man beneath her station. Daniel, the angry man who left as a boy to fight in the war only to return home to find nothing is the same and he doesn't quite know how to fix it. Alexander, the freed-man's bureau representative who thinking he can ease the guilt he feels for his part of the war tries to help the people in the south, both black and white, to rebuild their country. Otis, a slave who is ecstatic about the new freedom he has and is grabbing onto it with every part of his being and then there is my favorite character, Lizzie. the wife of Otis, and mother of three children, she desperately fights to embrace the new found freedom she has been given but so terrified that it is all a bad dream and it will all change in the blink of an eye. she tries hard to continue her service to the Weatherly family and at the same time yearn for a new start where her family is really free. Roselle, Lizzie's oldest child becomes a main focus at the end of the book which shocks everyone involved and changes the thinking of all of them. The ending I thought was perfect which showed how humans if willing can allow God's grace to penetrate their lives and change it for the better. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in seeing the different was people dealt with the devastation of the Civil war and the blessings that can come from letting go of the bitter past and stepping forward into a new beginning where "All Things are New".

Show Less

This book is set in the Reconstruction era of the south. The Weatherly family is trying to rebuild their lives after the Civil War. Eugenia wants things to be the same before the war though her daughter Josephine is willing to help out doing the work that needs to be done. We are also introduced to

Show More

a former slave family and we see their view of reconstruction and how African Americans were treated during that time. Josephine meets the agent of the Freedman's Bureau and strikes up a friendship with him. There is a family secret that is revealed in the book that shows a bad side of slavery.

Show Less

Fantastic read for any lover of historical fiction.
The characters blossom from the very beginning of the novel, and you feel as if you know them on a personal level.
It is hard to imagine life with slaves, and then as they become free after the war.
Lynn describes how God can make all things new in

Show More

life by giving people new beginnings.

Show Less

All Things New was a book set during the reconstruction era of the United States. It follows two families, a previous slave family and the other was the previously wealthy female slave owners and how they both try to rebuild their lives after the Civil War. Excellent book but hard to read some

Show More

scenes that demonstrate the hatred that existed during this time.

Show Less

I liked the story. I just thought, especially at the end, that it was pretty darn unbelievable for the time period and setting.

The writing style appealed to me and I was drawn to the characters from the onset, but this book really is nothing more than the same old 'I am a post civil war survivor. Look at me grow and survive.' That bit is really just played out with me.