Julie

Rating:
Summary: Moutains and Valleys
Review: "Julie", written by Catherine Marshall, was a book that I enjoyed reading. It was a realistic account of a girl's life during a couple of her teenage years. Julie and her family moved to Alderton, in an effort to get away from some problems they had run into in their old town of Timmeton. Julie's father buys the town's newspaper business, to try to bring it back to life. The family suffers through many trials such as poverty, flood damage, and disagreements with other town folks. Because the story is realistic, it provoked different emotions within me as I read along. I felt a love for Julie and an appreciation for those who were involved in her life. I thought this was a good book that showed how important God is in a person's life, and how things seem to work out when people stick together during good times and bad, mountains and valleys.

Rating:
Summary: JULIE Causes Irritation, Exitement
Review: Catherine Marshall's Julie: in a word, incredible. But not always incredibly good.
We meet Julie Wallace, a young lady going into her senior year in high school, first while she is with her family in their car going towards their new home. Within the first five pages, she is covered in mud. (This event happens several times over the course of the book, and each time it is less funny.) The reason Julie is in the mud? A young British man named Randolph "Rand" Wilkinson. Like a typical teenage girl, Julie is giggly and clumsy in front of a cute guy.
The Wallace family is heading to Alderton, where Mr. Wallace (formerly Rev.) has decided he wants to run Alderton's paper, The Sentinel. In a another typical fashion, the Wallace family is mostly ill-received after proving to be a "stuck-together, hard-working family" who always, always, seems to do the right thing. One of these "right things" is taking a great stand on the Yoder Steel/McKeevers issue.
The McKeevers are a very important family in Alderton. They control almost every store, company, and house. They also control the Yoder Steel plant, where they treat their workers like dirt. After several members of the Alderton community try to help this by wanting to have it be a Union company, Mr. McKeever, Sr., just turns downright nasty. The Wallaces run pieces in The Sentinel criticizing the conditions of the dam and, in a very unlikely fashion, Mr. McKeever pays people to go in and destroy The Sentinel press, office, and workers.
One day, however, it starts to rain. Alderton has suffered many terrible floods before, but this one is simply devastation. The huge dam (the one that caused so much controversy) breaks, sending thousands and thousands of gallons of water crashing into Alderton and its surrounding counties.
The flood is Catherine Marshall's strong point. While during the rest of the book writing is somewhat weak and young, her ability to so accurately describe the flood of 1937 is incredible. Her details and graphic descriptions are both horrifying and gruesome, and the only part of the book that captivated me. Her epilogue is also one of the strongest points in the book. You see how everything has turned out 50 years after the flood. You see that Julie and Rand have been married (of course), and how they are still so happily in love after all these years (of course), and that they have a wonderful family (of course), and how they still have joyful reunions (of course).

All in all, reading the beginning of the book was like trudging through sludge. The language and dialogue were very young and boring. There were so many subplots that it was hard to keep track of them all and to stay interested. But the ending is likeable and certainly provides for excitement. Grade: C+

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful story of family, romance, and suspense
Review: I read "Christy" several years ago and watched every episode of the television series when it was aired. I enjoyed "Christy" so much that I was anxious to read "Julie." I just finished reading "Julie" and it was excellent. The story is captivating and will keep you interested until the very end. Once I got to the last 100 pages, I couldn't put it down. Catherine Marshall has a way of allowing the reader into the hearts, minds, and emotions of her lead characters. I highly recommend this book. Curl up in a comfy chair with some hot chocolate and enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: The Best of Catherine Marshall is within these 428 pages!
Review: I read Christy first and fell in love with Catherine Marshall's work before I was done. I got Julie for my 14th birthday, and read it almost at once. I am now 18, almost 19, and have read this book almost a dozen times since. I am deeply in love with this book, and I never cease to amaze myself at the emotion I feel when I get near the end. When the Wallace family, along with Dean Fleming and Emily Cruley, are fighting to keep the Sentinel alive and running dispite the forces of hate fighting against them, I was with them all the way. When the tide turned and they realized they were not losing, I was amazed. Then the most dramatice part came-the dam broke. Every time I read that part, I get so mad at the Old Man and almost feel sorry for him (not really!) I am sorry to say that I get this smug feeling that we (as the people behind the Wallace family) knew better than the whole town! I get so mad at the Old Man, and so emotional. I really and truly love this book!

Rating:
Summary: Moutains and Valleys
Review: I simply loved it. It's a must read. Emotionally it really choked me up.

Rating:
Summary: JULIE Causes Irritation, Exitement
Review: Julie is a story about a southern girl who moves to Pennsylvania with her family because her father mysteriously gave up ministering and bought a Printing Shop. The story takes you through a family's journey of doing what right even though it could cost you everything. So many things happen in this novel that I don't want to spoil it any further by giving anymore details. But this book is a delightful read.

Rating:
Summary: Marshall's last book is one of her best
Review: Julie Wallace is 18 when her family moves to a small town in Pennsylvania. Her father has invested the family savings in a floundering newspaper. Julie becomes its star reporter and, in the year the book covers, she matures into a lovely young woman.

Exploitative labor practices in the local steel mill, a minister who defies the town powers to provide support for downtrodden workers, Julie's youthful idealism, her father's illness and struggle to build his newspaper and establish himself in the community all combine with teenage awakening and a couple of natural disasters to make a highly entertaining and spiritually enlightening book. Turns out the book is autobiographical and it's at least as successful as Marshall's CHRISTY.

Marshall's style is light and entertaining, never "preachy." But she gets a message across by demonstrating the power of faith and love in her characters' lives. Characters are full and vibrant, the story line moves tantalizingly and the language of the book is delightful.

I can't imagine anyone not enjoying JULIE.

Rating:
Summary: Heartwarming and full of love!
Review: Now after reading both Christy and Julie, Catherine Marshall has made herself and her books a home in my heart for all time. Julie especially is a special story that I know will never leave my memory nor heart. Julie, forced to move from her home town in Alabama to a flood-prone town in Pennsylvania, helps her dad take over a small and dying newspaper. She meets alot of interesting people, some welcoming her family to the community and others discriminating against her. Randolf Wilkinson, a man from the Hunting and Fishing Club, an elite place of gathering for Alderton's wealthy, instantly provides comfort and protection for Julie and her family. Rand and Julie's love is a very special part of this book, and in the end provides the strength and courage Julie needs to survive. Spencer Meloy, a local preacher, inspires Julie to keep reaching for her dreams and offers a friendship from the very start. Other characters, such as Margo, Julie's best friend, and Dean Fleming, an instant friend to Julie's father and the struggling newspaper, also help illistrate the love and meaning of this extremely well-written book. With all her family, friends, and most importantly, God, by her side, Julie finally starts on her quest to fullfill her hopes and dreams- her life.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This was the best book I have ever read. I first read Christy, and thought it was good, then read this book, and thought it was even better! I loved the entire story. It keeps you wanting to read and read, and when the book is over, you wish it was longer! If you have not read this book, I highly recommend it!!!