Setting: Sweden and Chicago, USA
Time Period: 1897

Every time I read one of Lynn Austin’s books, I’m blown away by how powerful and deep her stories are. No matter what setting or time period, her novels transport you back in time in such a real, life like way. In this case, “Until We Reach Home” is a captivating novel about three sisters who leave Sweden to find a new start in America. Throughout the novel, you watch these young women grow into mature adults who overcome overwhelming odds, with a lot of twists and turns in between!

Elin, Kirsten and Sofia all have struggles they conquer and grow through in their journey from Sweden to America and I adored how the author depicted each step of the way. If you’ve ever read a book where people change too fast and life turns out too perfect with little effort, then you know how satisfying it is to read about characters who are so lifelike and believable. This is one of those books! The sisters overcome with time and in ways that people would be able to relate to, even today. I’ll mention here also, how different they were and what a great job Austin did in keeping their personalities different and true to each girl. Elin was the responsible, cautious one; Kirsten feisty and Sofia developed a deep faith in God that sustained them through difficult times. The supporting characters were also fun, and if we could figure out how to turn fiction into real life, I would sooooo want to adopt Tomte, Mrs. Anderson’s grey cat! He was a hoot!

I read this book because it fit into my “Around The World In 80 Books” reading challenge, which added a Scandinavian setting to my growing list of countries. Though the novel only stayed in Sweden for the first few chapters, I’m still going to let this book count because the Swedish culture was constantly referred to throughout the novel, even when the girls came to America. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to read how there was a Swedish community in Chicago that even had a newspaper in the Swedish language!

Conclusion: “Until We Reach Home” was a wonderful, deep read. In Elin’s, Kirsten’s and Sofia’s story, you will read about real problems and heartache that complicated their lives from when they left Sweden to the very last page of their new life in America. They had a hard go of it most of the time, but through these pages, the author teaches us that God does work all things together for good. This story may be considered a heavier read for some, due to some of the topics addressed (like abuse, deception and pregnancy out of wedlock) but I gave this book five stars because I felt the story delivered everything you would in a good historical novel. It showed you the struggles immigrants faced when coming to the USA and I enjoyed it so much. Highly recommended!