Jamie Driggers
...this was a compelling story. As a mother I could really relate to Anna's anguish as she worried for her children. As a wife I could relate to the realistic portrayal of the woman left to hold house and home together....
— armchairinterviews.com
RomanceDesigns.com
A poignant story of a woman left to hold house and home together; I was absorbed from the opening scenes. The trials and tribulations of this small family are emotional and realistically portrayed by the author. I was hard-pressed to keep a dry eye while reading Anna's story. Well researched, the sense of time and place was vividly rendered and allows the reader to taste the despair suffered by Anna. Where Willows Grow is a fine example of our heartland during the Depression and drought.
ACFW.com
This book delivers quite an emotional punch and will touch your heart, as true love, in all its many forms, wins out in the end. Don't miss it!
—Melanie Dickerson
christianreviewofbooks.com
This book has Kim Sawyer's signature depth of characterization. As the reader, I quickly fell in love with Anna and her struggles. The characters were rich and diverse.... I also love the way Kim makes the setting come alive. She pulls together unknown pieces of Kansas history that add richness and depth to the plot. I also enjoyed the fact that this book was set during the Depression. This has been a time period that has been overlooked by many historical authors, yet Kim makes it come to life in a manner that kept me engaged from page one.
—Cara Putman
readerviews.com
"I really enjoyed reading Where Willows Grow, and could not put it down until I had completed it. I could totally understand the desperation for survival during those horrible times of no rain in Kansas, with the dust just blowing and blowing.... I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a little bit of Kansas history and for a touching story. I wanted Where Willows Grow to go on further so I could see what would happen next, and I was disappointed when the book ended.
—AJ Cooper
APR/MAY 08 - AudioFile
During the Great Depression, Harley Phipps leaves the Kansas plains to go to work for the Works in Progress Administration (WPA). With soft, gentle tones Linda Stephens captures his wife, Anna’s, loneliness and anxiety at his departure and her conflict over her latest pregnancy. She knows they can't afford to feed the two children they have—that's one reason Harley has to leave. The other is the endless drought that's killing their farm. Stephens's rich vocal personality and deft narration dramatize a family's struggles with economic hardship as they fight to hang on to their property. Her energetic, textured characterizations reveal the abiding endurance that defines these characters and the historical period they live in. G.D.W. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
