Book Review: Touching the Clouds

Touching the Clouds. Bonnie Leon. 2010. July 2010. Revell. 320 pages.

Kate Evans pushed open the screen door and stepped onto the broad front porch of her parents' farmhouse. This was supposed to be her wedding day. Instead, her lace, floor-length gown hung in her closet.

Touching the Clouds is a historical novel set in the 1930s.

Kate is a pilot burdened by guilt. Seven years before, Kate lost her best friend. Though conditions were fine when they took off that day, conditions didn't stay that way. The bad weather, the fog, led to an accident. She crashed the plane in a lake. Her friend didn't survive. When the novel opens, Kate is getting ready to go to Alaska. She's saying goodbye to her old life--Richard--and she's ready--more than ready--to move on, to make a new start. In Alaska. She knows it won't be easy starting a new life. Being a pilot in the Alaskan bush. But it's a challenge she wants, a challenge she needs.

I loved this one. I did. I loved it. I loved Kate. I loved her humanity. She was strong and courageous in many ways. Yet, she wasn't perfect. She had doubts. She had fears. She had worries. But she chose to face them.

I loved getting to know Kate's friends as well. Including the two men in Kate's life. Mike, a fellow pilot, and Paul, a cranky (but probably-cranky-for-a-good-reason) wilderness man. She met Paul because he's on her mail route. He's a loner. And he can be temperamental. Mike, on the other hand, was such an easy guy to like. Kate likes both men. She does. But does she love one of them? Does the one she love, love her in return?

Touching the Clouds is an adventuresome historical novel. It isn't strictly a romance novel. It's so much more than that. It's a rich historical novel that does a great job with describing a place, a community, a way of life. Much of the book is dedicated to Kate's flying adventures. Flying is part of who Kate is. It's more than a job; it's more than a hobby.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible