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One Summer at Helgeveld Farm
In 1949, Will Parlor spots a familiar silhouette across a busy Chicago street. In that moment, he is carried back to the summer of 1917, when, at seventeen, he took a job as a worker on an Illinois farm. Over that summer, he grew close to the Dutch-American Helgeveld family, especially daughters Vlinder and Corrie.
At the farm, Will also befriends Moses and Isaiah Butler, African American brothers up from Alabama, seeking freedom and opportunity in an America still rumbling after the Civil War. Together they navigate the racial and social tensions of a country on the brink of transformation.
Will falls in love with Vlinder, but a sudden tragedy threatens the harvest and the future of the farm. Despite a promise to return the next year, misfortune and family duty keep him home in Pittsburgh.
Thirty-two years later, that chance encounter on a Chicago street rekindles the summer that shaped his life and brings back the love, the loss, and the weight of promises he made in youth.
Set against the backdrop of a changing America during World War I, One Summer at Helgeveld Farm is a coming-of-age historical novel that travels alongside a forgotten piece of early twentieth-century a time when automobiles and horse-drawn wagons battled for space on city streets, and where families faced war, grief, and the stirrings of social change.
One Summer at Helgeveld Farm is rich in period detail and told with emotional warmth, humor, and quiet resilience. It invites readers into the rhythms of rural life and into the lives of those searching for purpose in a country edging forward.
At the farm, Will also befriends Moses and Isaiah Butler, African American brothers up from Alabama, seeking freedom and opportunity in an America still rumbling after the Civil War. Together they navigate the racial and social tensions of a country on the brink of transformation.
Will falls in love with Vlinder, but a sudden tragedy threatens the harvest and the future of the farm. Despite a promise to return the next year, misfortune and family duty keep him home in Pittsburgh.
Thirty-two years later, that chance encounter on a Chicago street rekindles the summer that shaped his life and brings back the love, the loss, and the weight of promises he made in youth.
Set against the backdrop of a changing America during World War I, One Summer at Helgeveld Farm is a coming-of-age historical novel that travels alongside a forgotten piece of early twentieth-century a time when automobiles and horse-drawn wagons battled for space on city streets, and where families faced war, grief, and the stirrings of social change.
One Summer at Helgeveld Farm is rich in period detail and told with emotional warmth, humor, and quiet resilience. It invites readers into the rhythms of rural life and into the lives of those searching for purpose in a country edging forward.
310 pages, Paperback
Published September 5, 2025
3 people are currently reading
908 people want to read
About the author
John Blois
1 book8 followersI've taught writing at a local community college for over 20 years and this is my debut novel. I've had the plot idea for years and finally put it together over 3 years. I enjoyed the research into life on an Illinois farm in 1917.
I'm already working on a follow-up novel that starts before this one, travels alongside, and ends afterwards. Many of the same characters in One Summer at Helgeveld Farm show up again.
I'm already working on a follow-up novel that starts before this one, travels alongside, and ends afterwards. Many of the same characters in One Summer at Helgeveld Farm show up again.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 5, 2025
This was their home until the crops were harvested and the farm was buttoned down for the season.
In 1949, a brief sighting on a Chicago street pulls Will Parlor back to the summer of 1917—the summer that defined him. At seventeen, he worked on the Helgeveld farm in Illinois, where he was welcomed into the Dutch-American family and fell quietly, deeply in love with Vlinder Helgeveld. There he also befriended Moses and Isaiah Butler, brothers who had journeyed north from Alabama in search of opportunity in a still-divided America.
But as the nation stood on the edge of World War I, the young men faced the weight of change, hardship, and a tragedy that threatened the farm’s future.
“One Summer at Helgeveld Farm” by John Blois is a touching coming-of-age story that is sure to resonate with readers. Engaging with this book feels less like following a straightforward narrative and more like wandering through a vivid memory shared by the characters and anyone who has experienced moments when time seems to pause and change.
From the opening pages, the narrative draws you in with an almost magnetic allure. The protagonist, Will, caught in the grip of a haunting memory, glimpses a familiar figure across the street, and in that instant, it takes him back to the long-ago summer. Blois handles this transition between the present (1949) and the past (1917) with remarkable finesse. Rather than jarring the reader with abrupt shifts, he creates a gentle slide into another era, where the creak of horse-drawn wagons competes with the rumble of early motor cars. This blend of sensory detail conjures a setting both richly nostalgic and remarkably immersive. It is a world poised between tradition and transformation.
What makes this historical environment so compelling is not merely the accuracy of its details but the emotional resonance beneath them. Blois invites the reader to feel the moment when rural life, once predictable and firmly rooted in generational rhythms, begins to tilt toward something new.
The novel’s strength lies not only in its landscape but also in its cast of characters. Each young man—Will, hesitant but eager; Owen, earnest and unworldly; Isaiah and Moses, resourceful siblings from a harsher South; Elmer, whose difference makes him vulnerable; and Roy, fiery and defiant—emerges with clarity. Blois gives them such nuance that they feel real, as if we’ve known them, their voices echoing long after the story ends.
These young men inhabit a period of life where possibility, uncertainty, and intensity collide. Blois captures those in-between years—when friendships can feel like they would last forever, and a single summer can shape the contours of a lifetime—with sensitivity and wisdom. The young men's interactions, whether teasing, competing, or confiding, form a rich emotional truth. Their differences enhance the narrative, but it is their shared longing—for belonging, for understanding, for a place in an often unforgiving world—that gives the story its heartbeat.
And yet it is not the main protagonist, but Moses, who captures the heart most fully. From the moment he appears, Moses exudes a liveliness that radiates across the page. His infectious singing, generous spirit, and uncanny ability to navigate Pastor Jannsen’s long, meandering sermons with humour and grace render him unforgettable.
The dialogue throughout the book shines effortlessly, revealing the voices of youth while hinting at the broader social tensions of a nation on the cusp of profound change. Conflict emerges with understated precision. Rivalries flare; loyalties are tested; the precariousness of farm life reveals itself in unexpected moments. Even a broken wagon wheel becomes a crucible for character, exposing courage, resilience, fear, and the bonds that deepen when hardship is shared. These moments never feel contrived; instead, they arise naturally from the characters’ circumstances, offering insight into the pressures and prejudices that shape their lives.
The Helgeveld farm is beautifully depicted, with its barns, fields, and the majestic sycamore, poplars and white oak trees whose branches stretch over decades of family labour, loss, and renewal. Vlinder Helgeveld’s family history deepens this sense of grounding, linking the personal story of the young men's summer to a larger narrative of immigration, settlement, and perseverance. The land becomes more than a backdrop—it is the connective tissue binding together past and present, memory and experience.
The novel’s greatest accomplishment lies in its ability to balance tenderness with tension. Blois does not shy away from the harsh realities of the era, including racial tension — such as Isaiah and Moses being unable to open a bank account where the other young men have — simply because of the colour of their skin. Despite this, the story maintains a sense of hope that is hard-earned rather than naïve. Moments of laughter, shared work, unexpected heroism, and quiet reflection serve as reminders that even in difficult times, especially grief, human connection can create pockets of grace.
“One Summer at Helgeveld Far,” by John Blois, with its vivid setting, complex characters, and attentive weaving of conflict and tenderness, is a novel that lingers in the mind long after the final page.
I Highly Recommend.
Review by Mary Anne Yarde
The Coffee Pot Book Club
In 1949, a brief sighting on a Chicago street pulls Will Parlor back to the summer of 1917—the summer that defined him. At seventeen, he worked on the Helgeveld farm in Illinois, where he was welcomed into the Dutch-American family and fell quietly, deeply in love with Vlinder Helgeveld. There he also befriended Moses and Isaiah Butler, brothers who had journeyed north from Alabama in search of opportunity in a still-divided America.
But as the nation stood on the edge of World War I, the young men faced the weight of change, hardship, and a tragedy that threatened the farm’s future.
“One Summer at Helgeveld Farm” by John Blois is a touching coming-of-age story that is sure to resonate with readers. Engaging with this book feels less like following a straightforward narrative and more like wandering through a vivid memory shared by the characters and anyone who has experienced moments when time seems to pause and change.
From the opening pages, the narrative draws you in with an almost magnetic allure. The protagonist, Will, caught in the grip of a haunting memory, glimpses a familiar figure across the street, and in that instant, it takes him back to the long-ago summer. Blois handles this transition between the present (1949) and the past (1917) with remarkable finesse. Rather than jarring the reader with abrupt shifts, he creates a gentle slide into another era, where the creak of horse-drawn wagons competes with the rumble of early motor cars. This blend of sensory detail conjures a setting both richly nostalgic and remarkably immersive. It is a world poised between tradition and transformation.
What makes this historical environment so compelling is not merely the accuracy of its details but the emotional resonance beneath them. Blois invites the reader to feel the moment when rural life, once predictable and firmly rooted in generational rhythms, begins to tilt toward something new.
The novel’s strength lies not only in its landscape but also in its cast of characters. Each young man—Will, hesitant but eager; Owen, earnest and unworldly; Isaiah and Moses, resourceful siblings from a harsher South; Elmer, whose difference makes him vulnerable; and Roy, fiery and defiant—emerges with clarity. Blois gives them such nuance that they feel real, as if we’ve known them, their voices echoing long after the story ends.
These young men inhabit a period of life where possibility, uncertainty, and intensity collide. Blois captures those in-between years—when friendships can feel like they would last forever, and a single summer can shape the contours of a lifetime—with sensitivity and wisdom. The young men's interactions, whether teasing, competing, or confiding, form a rich emotional truth. Their differences enhance the narrative, but it is their shared longing—for belonging, for understanding, for a place in an often unforgiving world—that gives the story its heartbeat.
And yet it is not the main protagonist, but Moses, who captures the heart most fully. From the moment he appears, Moses exudes a liveliness that radiates across the page. His infectious singing, generous spirit, and uncanny ability to navigate Pastor Jannsen’s long, meandering sermons with humour and grace render him unforgettable.
The dialogue throughout the book shines effortlessly, revealing the voices of youth while hinting at the broader social tensions of a nation on the cusp of profound change. Conflict emerges with understated precision. Rivalries flare; loyalties are tested; the precariousness of farm life reveals itself in unexpected moments. Even a broken wagon wheel becomes a crucible for character, exposing courage, resilience, fear, and the bonds that deepen when hardship is shared. These moments never feel contrived; instead, they arise naturally from the characters’ circumstances, offering insight into the pressures and prejudices that shape their lives.
The Helgeveld farm is beautifully depicted, with its barns, fields, and the majestic sycamore, poplars and white oak trees whose branches stretch over decades of family labour, loss, and renewal. Vlinder Helgeveld’s family history deepens this sense of grounding, linking the personal story of the young men's summer to a larger narrative of immigration, settlement, and perseverance. The land becomes more than a backdrop—it is the connective tissue binding together past and present, memory and experience.
The novel’s greatest accomplishment lies in its ability to balance tenderness with tension. Blois does not shy away from the harsh realities of the era, including racial tension — such as Isaiah and Moses being unable to open a bank account where the other young men have — simply because of the colour of their skin. Despite this, the story maintains a sense of hope that is hard-earned rather than naïve. Moments of laughter, shared work, unexpected heroism, and quiet reflection serve as reminders that even in difficult times, especially grief, human connection can create pockets of grace.
“One Summer at Helgeveld Far,” by John Blois, with its vivid setting, complex characters, and attentive weaving of conflict and tenderness, is a novel that lingers in the mind long after the final page.
I Highly Recommend.
Review by Mary Anne Yarde
The Coffee Pot Book Club
December 7, 2025
One Summer At Helgeveld Farm is a beautifully written story that brought me back to a simpler time, where values and traditions were acted upon and respected. The main characters were well-developed, and I found myself increasingly caring for them as the story unfolded. Everyone in the Dutch family from Illinois had their roles and contributed to making everything work in the family, and at the farm. This was difficult at times, when tragedies struck.
I particularly liked the relationship between Will, a summer farm worker, and a daughter in the family, Vlinder Helgeveld. The author sensitively chronicles their mutual attraction, with all the restraints, fears and hopes indicative of a young romance. The description of the camaraderie in the bunkhouse between the farm workers brought me to a sense of place and time which felt like I was there with them. My mouth was almost watering when fresh biscuits, potatoes, chicken and other food was described as part of the meals served at the farm.
This coming-of-age story skillfully blends tenderness, tradition and tragedy that will make you feel you are in the American mid-west of the twentieth-century. The contrasts with today’s society made me want to go back there, if only for a while, to bask in the security of the best parts of traditional values.
I particularly liked the relationship between Will, a summer farm worker, and a daughter in the family, Vlinder Helgeveld. The author sensitively chronicles their mutual attraction, with all the restraints, fears and hopes indicative of a young romance. The description of the camaraderie in the bunkhouse between the farm workers brought me to a sense of place and time which felt like I was there with them. My mouth was almost watering when fresh biscuits, potatoes, chicken and other food was described as part of the meals served at the farm.
This coming-of-age story skillfully blends tenderness, tradition and tragedy that will make you feel you are in the American mid-west of the twentieth-century. The contrasts with today’s society made me want to go back there, if only for a while, to bask in the security of the best parts of traditional values.
December 30, 2025
John Blois' book One Summer at Helgeveld Farm will captivate your attention to the very end. You will fall in love with the beloved characters of Will, Moses, Isaiah, Elmer, Vlinder, and so many more. There are many twists and turns throughout this book, and as you dive into the story of a farm in Illinois in 1917. There is history, racial tensions, industrial changes happening at the time, WWI, but amidst all this uncertainty, these characters really come to life. One Summer at Helgeveld Farm has a growing love story with a surprising twist at the end of the book, where you travel to 1949, where Will is older. I don't want to give away too much more, but this book truly feels like it could become a great movie one day. And I rarely say that about books I read. Not because they weren't good books, but this book really has great characters, events, plots, and twists that I hope one day it makes it to the big screen. I highly recommend this book to anyone, and I hope there's a sequel.
September 30, 2025
This is a wonderful book! A great story with thoughtful interesting characters, skillful dialogue, and well researched history. The author writes beautifully, and his young characters are believable and sympathetic. There are so many WW2 historical fiction books - it's refreshing and interesting to read about the home front at the beginning of WWI. I also learned more about the Dutch immigrants who settled in the mid-west. Totally enjoyable. I would highly recommend!
October 23, 2025
Wonderfully written. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it-there was a natural ease in the writing that made a hard day’s work feel like it was all worth it when the golden hour hits and there’s desert at every meal. I feel like I was right there on Helgeveld farm, working the summer away. The storyline pulls you through the feelings of pride, ambition, loss, hope, and love. Already looking for the next one!
November 6, 2025
One Summer at Helgeveld Farm is a thoughtful and well-crafted story that portrays the quiet beauty of rural life and the formative experiences of youth. John Blois captures not only the atmosphere of rural Illinois but also the quiet resilience of those living through a time of global change. The depiction of farm work and the relationships that develop over the season feel genuine and grounded. The attention to detail—particularly in the vivid descriptions of the daily meals and communal gatherings—adds richness and realism to the narrative. I thoroughly enjoyed this book
September 19, 2025
Excellent book! I couldn't put it down! The author brings you right into the world and it's like you are on the farm with everyone. Cannot wait for a second one!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews