Book Review: Through the Deep Waters

Through the Deep Waters by Kim Vogel Sawyer is the story of Dinah, a seventeen year old young lady raised by a single mother in Chicago. In this historical fiction novel, Dinah tries to escape the secrets of her past by leaving Chicago and becoming a chambermaid at the Clifton Hotel in Kansas. This hotel is owned by Fred Harvey, and Dinah dreams of becoming a Harvey girl one day when she is old enough. However, since she was raised in a brothel by a prostitute, and because of a choice she made prior to leaving for Kansas in order to get enough money to help her mother have a place to live until her death, Dinah is not sure this dream will ever come true.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I like Kim Vogel Sawyer's writing style, and have read a number of her books in the past. From Dinah, to chicken farmer Amos, to Dinah's fellow chambermaid roommate Ruthie, the characters in the novel are interesting and relatable. One interesting aspect of the book is the way the chapters are told from alternating perspectives. Hearing the internal dialogue of the main characters is a key aspect of the book. Ruthie makes a lot of assumptions about Dinah and why she behaves as she does, and almost all the assumptions are completely false. Also, the readers really get to see a big transformation in Dinah throughout the course of the book. There is a clear message of hope in the novel as Dinah learns of God's love and sacrifice and she realizes that she can be free of the secrets in her past. The author addresses a difficult topic by putting Dinah in a brothel and having her mother be a prostitute. Toward the beginning of the book, Dinah goes through a very difficult experience that is hard to read about, but it is a key part of the plot line. Nothing in the novel is overly graphic, but if you are sensitive about these topics, this book might not be the best choice for you.

Connect with the author at her website and get a sneak peek of this book here.

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review; all opinions are my own.