BELONGING BY ROBIN LEE HATCHER

BELONGING by ROBIN LEE HATCHER -   is a book I can highly recommend.  It is beautifully written and has a strong Christian message.  In fact I have ordered the sequel, BETRAYAL, which is only coming on to the market today!
Felicia Brennan Kristoffersen comes to Frenchman's Bluff, Idaho, to be the new schoolmistress. Orphaned at ten and separated from her brother and sister, taken in by the elderly and unaffectionate Kristoffersens, she hasn't felt she belonged anywhere since her beloved mother died. One thing that she does have, however, is a close and personal relationship with her Lord, who has sustained her throughout her life. We see her love for Him throughout, and how she is reminded through the Scriptures to let go of unforgiveness and to be thankful for what she has. She is excited that she has been given this new start and is totally committed to inspiring the children, especially the girls, to carry on with their education and thus open up opportunities for the future.
Colin Murphy is on the school board and is Felicia's landlord. He is the owner of the mercantile. He has also had sorrow in his past, having lost his wife and being left to bring up his daughter, Charity, on his own. Along the way he seems to have lost his faith in God.
Charity is an outgoing little girl who soon becomes fast friends with "Miss K". Colin, who with Mrs Summerville, voted against employing a young unmarried teacher in case she got married and left the children without a teacher, soon becomes enamoured with this beautiful and godly young woman. At last he has hope that Charity will overcome her reading problems when Felicia helps her with her studies in the evenings.
Kathleen Summerville is the widowed mother of two daughters. Her mother-in-law is controlling and Kathleen longs to be free of her in-laws and have a home of her own. She and Felicia become friends in spite of Mrs Summerville's interference.
The interaction between the characters is an interesting study of human behaviour and the longing to belong flows throughout the story. The importance of standing up for oneself when controlling family members try and run one's life, and of letting go of the past, living in the present and looking forward to the future, is also brought out strongly in the novel.