Captive Dreams

Cornhusker Dreams #3

by Cara C. Putman

Anna doesn’t know how to go on. Anna Goodman’s mother is dead, her father has given up on life, and her brother, Brent, is missing in action in World War II. Even though she has a full-time war job, she feels she must keep the family farm going so that Brent will have something to come home to. She won’t let herself think that he might never return. Any dreams Anna has for her future are held captive by the responsibilities the war and life have thrust upon her. If only Anna didn’t have to rely on help from German prisoners—or from Specialist Sid Chance, the cocky know-it-all who oversees the prisoners’ work. In her heart, she knows she can’t do everything demanded of her, but whom can she trust to carry the burden with her?

 

Genres: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Romance, Historical, Fiction

176 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 17, 2008

About the author

Cara C. Putman lives in Indiana with her husband and four children. She is a clinical associate professor in law and ethics at Purdue University's School of Business. She has loved reading and writing from a young age and now realizes it was all training for writing books. She loves bringing history and legal romantic suspense to life.

An honors graduate of the University of Nebraska, George Mason University School of Law, and Krannert School of Management, Cara left small town Nebraska and headed to Washington, D.C., to launch her career in public policy.

Cara is an author chasing hard after God as she lives a crazy life. She invites you to join her on that journey. She's currently writing her 46th book with more on the way. Please check out her website to learn more about her books and read first chapters.

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was actually my favorite of the series. The romance between Anna and Sid is authentic and not touchy-feely bodycentric at all, which made me love their story even more. It's a fairly quick read and touches on some interesting info about how the German captives were used to help farm in the Midwest while the American men were off to war. It wasn't a phase of history I knew much about, and I'm sure others will also enjoy learning more about a lesser-known facet of WW2.

Content: Squeaky clean. I'd be comfortable giving books in this series to even young teen girls because of the lower focus on romance.

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's World War II and Anna Goodman is trying to look after a father who has lost his way since his wife died, worrying about her brother who is a pilot serving in WW II, and working a full time job as a parachute packer a distance from the farm her father is supposed to be working. When the county sends in German POW's to keep the farm going for much needed food in the US and for troops, Anna's father comes unglued. Can Anna deal with all of this as well as develop a relationship with the Army specialist who is in charge of all the POW's?

I found this book interesting as I didn't know much about the German people who were interned during World War II as well as how they were used to help farmers due to the lack of available men who were serving in the military. Well written book.

[Sarita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this audiobook - the narrator was entertaining with Anna, though Sid came across a bit robotic.

The theme about letting go of what you can’t control, giving those concerns over to God and trust in Him was strong.

The romance was sweet and developed slowly over time.

*I listened to the audiobook on Scribd.*

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story. I knew that Sid would be featured in this last book of the series, so it was cool to see him appear in 'Sandhill Dreams' (book 2). That said, I wish that this story had made mention of previous characters in the series. Ahh well.
I liked Anna and could really relate to her. She wanted to do the right thing, but had a hard time saying 'no' and taking time to refill her own stores of strength. I really liked how she was able to learn how to give her problems and concerns (especially over her father and brother) to God. I thought it was really neat how she was able to use the answer that God gave her about not being able to do everything on her own in her conversation with her father.
I also appreciated how Sid was able to rely on God's leading and timing with regards to his relationship with Anna. Even though he was growing to love Anna, he knew that he didn't want that relationship if God didn't want it for him.

[Rebekah Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Having read and enjoyed the first two books in this series, I was excited to read this one.
I liked Anna and her determination to do everything she could to keep the farm going, help her father, and still do her work for the war. Sid was the kind of guy you’d want helping you. I liked his relationship with the POWs.
I did feel that there were a few times when it felt almost as though the story was missing things, and I was left hanging completely about the prisoners and the thefts that were supposedly going on. It wasn’t even brought up again, nothing was resolved or found out, and I couldn’t decide if the solution had been cut out or if it never existed. We were also never told or shown about Anna’s brother coming home. I thought the epilogue would have something, but he wasn’t even mentioned. It was as though he never actually returned.
It was interesting to learn more about the POWs helping with the farm labor which is something you don’t usually hear anything about.
Overall, I enjoyed this story, but not as much as the others.

[Shreedevi Gurumurty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anna Goodman’s mother is dead, her father has given up on life, and her brother is missing in action in World War II. Anna’s dreams for the future are held captive by the responsibilities the war and life have thrust upon her. She’s desperate to hold the farm together while working at a war factory in nearby Kearney. She can’t do it alone. She must interact daily with Specialist Sid Chance, the cocky know-it-all who oversees the German prisoners who work on her family farm—prisoners that are a constant reminder of her father’s harrowing experience in World War I.As Sid gets to know the determined Anna, he must balance her mistrust against his desire to help farmers. With so many able-bodied men deployed around the world, the prisoners’ labor is essential to save local farms from ruin. He must also battle against prejudice from men like Anna’s father, who can’t stand their presence or the memories they force him to relive. Sid wants to protect Anna, if she’d only let him. Anna’s as skittish as a colt, but he’s determined to win her heart.When the farm’s future is at risk, Anna must decide whether she can trust Sid with her heart…and her future.Kearney Air Force Base is a former United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force base located near Kearney, Nebraska. It operated from 1942-1949.Prisoners were brought to the U.S. to be safely confined and to supplement a depleted civilian work force.The POWs lived at 126 large camps, each housing several thousand men, some built in conjunction with military installations.In Nebraska, approximately 12,000 prisoners of war were held in camps across the state. Scottsbluff, Fort Robinson, and the village Atlanta (outside Holdrege) were the main base camps. There were many smaller satellite camps at Alma, Bayard, Bertrand, Bridgeport, Elwood, Fort Crook, Franklin, Grand Island, Hastings, Hebron, Indianola, Kearney, Lexington, Lyman, Mitchell, Morrill, Ogallala, Palisade, Sidney, and Weeping Water. Altogether there were 23 large and small camps scattered across the state.The treatment of the prisoners in Nebraska was good.

[ELMorehead · Rating 5 out of 5]

U.S. Farmers Needed help During WW2!

In 1944, as more men men became soldiers, Farms in the Great Plains suffered from major Labor shortages. How did the Government help? Cara Putman write about that, in "Captive Dreams (Cornhusker Dreams Book 3)".

Syd was an Army Soldier stationed at Camp Atlanta, Nebraska, a POW Camp. He was in charge of a group of POWs, who worked at area Farms, who needed their labor.

Anna was the daughter of a Farmer. Syd's POWs worked at her Farm. That's where they met. She also worked at another job, in Kearney (NE), sewing parachutes for soldiers & wings for war airplanes.

How does God bring Syd & Anna to their Lifetime 💞? I Highly Recommend You 📖 this Great, Engrossing, Poignant, Realistic Portrayal, of a WW2 💗, in this Historic, Christian Romance, to find out! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and this series! We actually drove through some of the areas discussed in this series on our trip across country this Fall and it was great to see one of the bases even as we passed through without stopping. Being a military family, I’m always enthralled with war time romance. This series is unique because it all takes place on the homefront!

The narration was good and usually easy to distinguish between characters. There was a raspy sound most had but it wasn’t an issue. It must be hard to create so many different voices and this book had more then the average in my opinion.

I wish we had a follow up on the brother, but I loved the epilogue!

[Trisha c · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is set during WW2 . Anna works at a factory in town to help keep the family farm afloat. Anna's father has given up on life since his wife passed away. In order to help the farmers, since many men are deployed, the German prisoners were sent out daily to help. Many farmers were cautious in having the prisoners in the area.
Anna's father has a daily reminder of his terrible experiences in WW1, and doesn't want their help. Sid is an overseer of the prisoners on the farm. Anna must learn to trust Sid and protect her heart.
Cecily White narration was really good! I enjoyed listening to this story.
🎧audiobookobsessionreviewer🎧

[Kim Paulus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historical, Struggles and Romance

Another story that was hard to out down. "Just one more page," and before I know it I finished it. This one in a series, but can be read as a stand a lone. Sis is an American soldier assigned to German POW's. The POW's are tasked with bring in area crops in Nebraska. Sid is the oversight soldier. While working a farm Sid runs into a fiesty woman named Ann. Ann's brother is off fighting in Europe and her father is fighting his own battles at home and cannot tend to the farm. Sid and Ann spare about what needs to be done to save the harvest. Can't wait to read the next story in the series.

[DeAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the first two books in this series a couple of years ago and am not sure how I missed the third. This is definitely my favorite. Anna is packing parachutes during the week for the military and taking care of her dad and family farm on the weekends in rural Nebraska during WWII while her brother is serving overseas in the midst of all the action. She feels overwhelmed and alone. But she isn’t alone and her community (old and new) comes together to support her family.

This was such a heart-warming story. Anna found a place in my heart and I am not sure I will let her go for a while.

[Marty Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

How interesting and exciting

I made the mistake if taking this go bed do read if last night. The action picked up, the emotions started, yes, I cried, and I couldn't stop reading. Each book in this series is my favorite, the characters were all wonderful, and reading about how Nebraska was used during WWII, was fascinating. The use of German POWs made sense and was a kind treatment of the prisoners.

[Ckainer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this series. Easy to read. Interesting perspective of World War II from America rather than overseas.

[Josie Siler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this series. I feel like this third book was a little more rushed than the first two, but it was still quite enjoyable. I will definitely be reading more by Cara Putman!

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historically fascinating, but the romance didn't quite capture me.

[Joy Kidney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet WWII story from the Heartland

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What my heart always dreamed of.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: CAPTIVE DREAMS
Author: Cara C. Putman
Publisher: Heartsong Presents
September 2009
ISBN: 978-1-60260-078-2
Genre: Inspirational/historical

Anna Goodman is drowning in a sea of despair. Her beloved mother is dead, her brother, Brent, is Missing in Action in World War II, and her father is turning into a grouchy drunk. Anna’s only escape from the unpleasant place home has become is the factory job where she works assembling parachutes.

Still, Anna is upset when she goes home to the family farm to find out that her father has hired German prisoners of war to work in their fields. Anna is quick to throw them off the farm, but she has no idea how she’ll get the farm work done on weekends when she has a house and her father to take care of.

Specialist Sid Chance overseas the prisoners work, and he is instantly attracted to the spunky girl who reminds him of his sister. But Anna doesn’t seem to want anything to do with him, or the prisoners. Still, he tries to time his visits to when he knows that Anna will be on the farm. Will Anna be able to learn to trust him?

CAPTIVE DREAMS is one of the newer Heartsong Presents to come out. I’m not sure how they are marketing it – as historical or contemporary – but since the story happens when my mother was young and before I was born, I’m going to classify it as historical. Set during World War II, this period is one of my favorite war time periods to read about.

This story has an air of depression about it at first, as Anna is dragged down by the life situations around her. Still, I hoped that everything would work out for Anna and her family, that her brother would be found alive, her dad would come out of his depression, and that Anna might find that there is a silver lining in the clouds after all. If you enjoy WWII fiction, this would be a good book to read. There is a lot of real life in it. $4.95. 170 pages.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those who have had loved ones in any of the wars, know the difficulties that the soldiers go through and the risks to their lives. To say they are difficult is an understatement. In Captive Dreams, we hear the other side of the story.

The Ed Goodman family is reeling over the death of a beloved wife and mother; knowing Brent, a son/brother, had his plane downed in WWII and is missing in action; and needing to care for a farm in order to make a living. However, Ed is in the throes of depression over the death of his wife and missing son and is drinking heavily, ignoring all that needs to be done.

Anna is left to work full-time at Kearney Airfield, care for her father, and keep the family farm her father refuses to tend to, so Brent will have something to come home to. Until one day she meets Specialist Sid Chance, who personally takes on the task of seeing that the Goodman farm is worked, using German prisoners, which both Ed and Anna despise and even chase off.

Anna feels her life is on hold, unable to see a future for herself. She’s breaking under the stress of her load. Where can she turn? Why is Sid so interested in helping them? This is a compelling story of life’s burdens, struggles, exhaustion, and hopelessness here at home for one family during the war. Anna and her father need to look for a new hope. Will they find it before they lose everything?

Cara’s book really captured the depth of life's struggles during WWII here at home. I was not disappointed.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of what I know about World War Two is based on what happened in Europe, or what happened to British and American soldiers abroad. Captive Dreams introduced me to the war at home in America, and I found it a fascinating story and an intriguing introduction. I hadn’t realized there was rationing here, or camps of German prisoners with work details, and I’d never tried to imagine how war might have affected farmers struggling to rise from the depression.

Cara Putman creates convincing characters and describes their world vividly through the pattern of their lives. Anna’s father is close to giving up. The farm’s falling apart. Her brother’s abroad as a soldier. And the only way to get money is to work in town, which leaves no-one to care for the crops. I learned, together with the specialist guarding prisoners, about corn tassels, about timing for the harvest, and about the vagaries of the weather. Sometimes I imagined I could smell the scents Cara Putman described so vibrantly.

The slowly developing relationship between Anna and Specialist Sid Chance is convincingly portrayed, as is Sid’s relationship with the prisoners and with Anna’s hostile father. But an overarching relationship with God holds the key to freeing Anna to see herself among her sea of burdens. She has to learn to say “No,” and “Not just now.” Then she finds time to think and rightly say “Yes.” Then farm and family are saved.

Captive Dreams is an enjoyable, evocative tale with interesting characters and locale and thought-provoking dilemmas. I really enjoyed it.

[Lynnda Ell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Captive Dreams is rich in detail and a well crafted story of the love between two ordinary people in extrodinary times. I would have enjoyed it more if less effort was spent showing their discouraged lives and more words were written about the courage it took to keep pressing on.

[Julie Christianson · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good