Good Hope Road

Tending Roses #2

by Lisa Wingate

In a time of crisis, two women come together and set off down a road of hope in this novel in the Tending Roses series from the New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours.
 
Twenty-year-old Jenilee Lane, whose dreams are as narrow as the sky is wide, doesn’t imagine any good could come out of the tornado that has ripped across the Missouri farmland where she makes her home. But some inner spark compels her to take action. To rescue her elderly neighbor Eudora Gibson from the cellar in which she’s been trapped. To make her way to the nearby town of Poetry, where the townspeople have begun to gather in the only building left standing. To collect from the devastated landscape fragments of life that lie strewn about in the tornado’s wake: letters, photographs, and mementos that might mean something to people who have lost everything.
 
Eudora Gibson didn’t think Jenilee had it in her. But the girl she’s hardly noticed for years is now surprising her—stepping forward with a bravery that inspires Eudora to face her own bitter past. Brought close by tragedy, the two will learn lessons about the resilience of the human spirit and the ties that make a community strong. And together, they will travel to a place that once lay beyond their dreams.

Genres: Fiction, Christian Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Book Club, Audiobook, Christian

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

Lisa Wingate is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Before We Were Yours, which remained on the bestseller list for over two years. Her award-winning works have been selected for state and community One Book reads, have been published in over forty languages, and have appeared on bestseller lists worldwide. The group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa and six others as recipients of the National Civics Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life. She lives in Texas and Colorado with her family and her deceptively cute little teddy bear of a dog, Huckleberry. Find her at www.lisawingate.com, on Facebook at LisaWingateAuthorPage, or on Instagram @author_lisa_wingate

Reviews

[Lisa Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't think I could love this one more than Tending Roses, but I do. Bittersweet. About forgiveness and finding the courage to move forward. I was especially touched by the secondary story of Eudora Gibson and June Jaan. An unexpected rightness and joy to that part of the story.

Sometimes you have to suffer the loss of everything you think matters, to not miss what truly matters in your life.

Thank you, Lisa Wingate, for reminding us to be grateful and to cherish what we've been given.

[Missy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jennilee Lane is a strong young woman, who took care of her ailing mother before she passed, her teenage brother, and living with an alcoholic father. All while a town turned their head on what they knew was happening behind closed doors. But when the town is devastated by a tornado, it is Jennilee that comes to their rescue, showing them she is strong and can get them through a tragedy when they themselves have trouble.

I enjoyed this story of Jennilee and her family, town, and dreams. How when you think there is nowhere to go, someone always shows you the light.

[Rissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good hope road
In the aftermath of a disastrous tornado the town has to come together to rebuild what once was.
Jenilee rescues an old woman stuck in a well which starts a small spark or romance with the grandson.

[Jayna Baas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Wingate’s writing style. She’s one of the best I’ve read at first-person narratives. This one had great characters and some good storylines. Hard things, but tempered with hope. This is one of Wingate’s secular inspirational titles, so my main objection involves a fair smattering of language and some unresolved threads of immorality. Characters’ ideas of God and angels were also a little off. I enjoyed seeing the siblings come together again, and Eudora Gibson’s own story was a nice addition. The opening of the story involves a time jump that threw me a little bit, but it was easily forgotten as the story went on. It really is true that good things can come out of bad things. Not necessarily a book I’d read multiple times, but an enjoyable experience nonetheless.

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know I'm in the minority here, but I was not a fan of this book. While I loved Tending Roses (the first book in this series), this book was slow moving and even though I gave it a chance, it never grabbed my attention. Plus, I couldn't connect with any of the characters. They seemed very flat.

I wanted to like it so much, because I'm a fan of this author, but after getting more than halfway through the book, I finally gave up.

[Joleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Hope Road by Lisa Wingate
Years: Current day? Unsure
Location: Poetry, Missouri (fictional town)
Main Characters:
Jenilee Lane: Taken care of brother and daddy since mama died
Eudora Gibson: Jenilee's neighbor, house gone after tornado
June Jaans: Jenilee's neighbor, widower (yes, a man)
Nate: Jenilee's 16 yr old brother
Drew: Older brother, left years ago
Dr. Albright: Helped out with injuries at the armory
Mazelle Sibley: Mean woman who never liked Jenilee

The story is told in first person alternately by two voices: Jenilee and Mrs. Gibson

The town of Poetry just experienced a distructive tornado. Jenilee's property was virtually untouched, but she could see her neighbor's places were severely damaged. Driving their tractor to Mrs. Gibson's place it was clear her property was nearly a total loss. Hearing noises, she saw she needed to use the tractor to remove an obstruction on top the storm cellar to free her neighbor and granddaughter.

Later, at the armory Mrs. Gibson, Jenilee and an out of town doctor (who, because of car trouble was stuck there) worked tirelessly to triage patients, and assist with anything they could. Her medical training at the veterinarian's office came in handy and she clearly had a knack for knowing what to do in this crisis. Mr. Jaans, Jenilee's neighbor, suffered broken bones and aware he wouldn't get back to his farm anytime soon. Jenilee's daddy and brother were missing. But after being made aware of the tornado, her older brother, Drew, whom she hadn't seen in years, came back.

Jenilee started picking up papers and pictures strewn all over, wondering if they were important to someone who's life was torn apart. In town, the injured were taken to the armory. The idea to start hanging up the letters, pictures and other papers on an armory wall came to Jenilee, in the hopes that people would find and claim them. This began a mission, of sorts, for people to pick up papers and photos all over the area. Soon the armory was plastered with mementos. People from all over, even news crews, came to see the sight and to find their lost items.

Because of an abusive daddy, Jenilee had been such a sad child, who hung her head and spoke little. Mrs. Gibson and Mrs. Sibley treated her like white trash. But experiencing Jenilee's help and tireless work, Mrs. Gibson's heart softened, becoming more of a mother to her.

This was a small part of the encouraging stories of changed lives. Good often has a way of emerging from tragedy. Like the moth working all its muscles and strength to emerge from its cocoon, people can experience a new life with effort and hope after a disaster. The name of Jenilee's road took on new meaning. The lives of those who lived on it were changed forever, and hope was finally alive.

This book followed Tending Roses which is my favorite book this year. Good Hope Road was very good, emotional at times. It brings us to a place where we can see God's work, despite, and because of devastating circumstances.

Mrs. Gibson contemplating what it would be like for a child to be so afraid:
When you’re afraid of everything, the thing you are most afraid of is happiness. You’re afraid to step into even a little piece of it, because you know that as soon as you do, someone will slam the door, and you’ll be trapped in the darkness again, remembering how the light felt.

Wisdom from an old friend about leaving behind a hurtful past so you can move on:
“You can’t plow a clean row while you’re turned around looking where at you’ve been.”

[Anne Dorr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the author's style of writing but the storyline was mediocre. Good character development and good underlying theme, just not the most exciting book to read.

[Loraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

SUMMARY: Twenty-year-old Jenilee Lane whose dreams are as narrow as the sky is wide, is the last person to expect anything good to come out of the tornado that rips across the Missouri farmland surrounding her home. But some inner spark compels her to rescue her elderly neighbor, Eudora Gibson, from the cellar in which she's been trapped. To make her way to the nearby town of Poetry, where the townspeople have begun to gather. To collect from the landscape letters, photographs, and mementos that might mean something to people who have lost everything. Brought close by tragedy, Jenilee and Eudora will learn lessons about the resilience of the human spirit and the ties that make a community strong. They will travel to a place they never would have imagined.

REVIEW: I didn't think the second book in the Tending Roses series could possibly be as great as the first, but I was wrong. It is as full of gems of southern wisdom as the first. Although totally different, it continues the saga of the area in Missouri where the first story with Grandma Rose had been set. Full of depth, emotion, and poignancy, the characters and story line were compelling and grabbed the reader's attention from start to finish. Beginning with a tornado that nearly demolished the small rural town of Poetry, the main character, Jenilee finds strength within herself to bring compassion and love to a devastated town that needed to find hope to get started once again. Jenilee and Eudora told this story taking turns telling the story from their perspective and feelings on the recovery. They both found that where dislike and suspicion once reigned that forgiveness and compassion could replace these and build a stronger better community where hope could reside. Lisa Wingate is indeed a gifted writer and weaves each story with the thread of a magical storyteller yet filled with the realism of every day life.

FAVORITE QUOTES: (Once again too many gems to include them all.)
"Yet love has no weight, or size, or substance. It does not know the barriers of time or space or distance, of life and death. Love travels on the wind. Love is greater than the trials and suffering of this world. Love endures all things."

"When your heart wants to grow heavy, it is always best to remind yourself of other folks who have got it worse."

"Every living creature needs to hear the beating of another heart once in a while...Nothing God made on this earth is meant to go on its way alone."

"It's an odd thing when life twists itself around to where the one person you thought you didn't need winds up being the one you need the most."

"Except God don't create accidents. We only think there are accidents because we don't know what God has in mind."

"It don't do any good to dwell on whatever come before. A bad past is like gristle. You can chew on it forever and starve yourself to death, or you can spit it out and see what else is on the table."

"Do not pray for miracles. Only God can know what miracles He will send. Pray for the strength to open the door when the knock comes. The sound is ever so soft. Listen well."

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second installment in Ms. Wingate's Tending Roses series. It's an easy read about human connections and the things we mistake for important instead of treasuring those people who truly are important. I preferred Tending Roses, but truthfully, I'm not sure what really links these two books together in a series other than the onset of dementia in central characters of both books and perhaps the setting -- both take place in the midwest -- Kansas and Missouri. And because I wasn't totally enchanted with the story, I was distracted a bit trying to figure out if there was a minor character crossover or something else I might be missing.

[Jeanne Adamek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great storytelling without being preachy. A crisis comes to in a small town in Missouri and how the townspeople react to the situation. The characters were so well drawn that the story could have happened anywhere. A book where families find to themselves and where a so called "worthless trash" show courage, kindness, empathy and real understanding for others.

My favorite-- "In the end it is the small things that count"

[Beth McVey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this authors writing. The little nuggets of God speaking, strengthens my faith as she winds it into her stories. Such a great feel good book. ☺️

[Holly (2 Kids and Tired) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know what it is about Lisa Wingate. Her novels are easy to read, similar to each other, and fairly predictable. They are also incredibly compelling. Good Hope Road is the the second book after Tending Roses. It's a stand alone novel, although some of the characters from Tending Roses appear, and these characters will appear in The Language of the Sycamores.

When a tornado destroys the town of Poetry, Missouri, Jenilee finds herself and her purpose. Finding oneself and place in life is a standard theme for Wingate books. After the tornado, Jenilee rescues a bitter, elderly woman and the two form an unlikely bond of friendship, through which both are able to forgive those whom they have held grudges against. In the aftermath of the storm, Jenilee begins gathering mementos and pictures and items that have been blown away by the tornado. This small act draws the town together as they begin to recover from the tragedy. Jenilee is reunited with her estranged brother and the story, like all Wingate stories, wraps up neatly and predictably.

It's an easy, well-written read. And, like the other Wingate novels I found myself unable to put the book down. The laundry waited and the dishes waited until I finished it. The voices are likeable, compelling and ring true.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a cluster of tornadoes strike Missouri, Jenilee's home town of Poetry, Missouri is devastated. Her house escaped damage, but her neighbour's didn't. Jenilee has grown up to be quiet and to stay to herself since her mother died and her father is a long term alcoholic, but like some people do, she finds she can't stay indoors, and steps out of her house to rescue her neighbour and her granddaughter, who are trapped in a storm cellar. She goes on to start collecting photos and letters that have been blowing around, and then moves to the temporary hospital. Her former job helping the local vet and her years of rescuing stray animals help her help the extremely limited medical people (that vet and then a stranded doctor).

This is a novel told from two POVs, Jenilee's and her neighbour, who has looked down on Jenilee and her family as white trash for years. It's about how disaster can alter the course of people's lives, whether or not they have been physically injured. I liked this better than expected.

It is not a sequel to the first book in the series, and is about different people.

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe I had too high of expectations for Good Hope Road since I loved “Before We Were Yours”. This book is centered around Jenilee Lane who lives down Good Hope Road. This is just all too - unimaginative? Anyway, a tornado hits this town called Poetry (again, really?)and Jenilee is a little girl who has been thought of as the town waif. After the tornado hit, Jenilee finds pictures, mementoes, and letters that are rain soaked and laying everywhere. She decides to pick them up and display them at the Armory where families can come and look to see if anything belongs to them. I ask, wouldn’t most of us collect anything we see if a tornado hits and things are blown about? There is more characters that are woven into the story, mostly neighbors and Jenilee’s family and why she is the little girl the town forgot. But other than that, eh. I do have a favorite line from the book - goes like this....”Today, I wish to give you this simple advice. Do not pray for miracles. Only God can know what miracles He will send. Pray for strength to open the door when the knock comes. The sound is ever so soft. Listen well.” Love those lines!

[Cathy Caldwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was gifted this book since it takes place in Missouri, and I used to live in Missouri.

A series of tornadoes destroy a wide, multi-state swath of the Midwest/Plains, including the town of Poetry, central to the story. This book was written before the Joplin, Mo tornado, but it seemed like it could have been inspired by it.

The author seemed a bit confused about the geography of Missouri, as if she had changed her mind where people lived. The doctor was from St Louis, but later was going home to Kansas City? The hospital was in Springfield, but they later got on the interstate to Oklahoma City? The program was in St Louis, but somehow that was going to be a couple of hours away from Springfield? This ruined the story for me. I couldn’t quite place where Poetry was supposed to be & that made it a mess to follow.

The relationships were awkward, making it unbelievable that they would come together in the end.

[Becki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Hope Road I finished Good Hope Road last night. I didn't realize I was in for a good cry session! This was a really touching book. It caused me to evaluate myself on many levels. (It wasn't a very long book how did it hit me from so many angles?) For example: How often do I hide behind what I perceive others think of me? How often do I make and hold tight to inaccurate judgements about people? How often do I refuse to allow someone to change? How often does the Lord have to use dramatic events to open my eyes to my own weaknesses? Thanks for suggesting this book. I really enjoyed it.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this sweet story, but for me it was too drawn out. I listened to the audio version and enjoyed the narrators and change in voices, very good. I enjoyed the message of hope and putting aside differences in order for a community to heal and rebuild for the greater good.
What confused me: I kept thinking this book would present characters from Lisa Wingate's "Tending Roses" but I missed the connection. I enjoyed the former much more as this one just went on way too long for my liking.

[Dana Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most heartwarming and beautiful stories I've ever read. Hope and beauty from ashes.

[Sarah Chilva · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Faith is a stalwart ship, carrying us through the gale, not destroyed by the ocean, but strengthened by it. Even the fiercest of life's trials are no match for her sails. Trials pass like a storm. The day rises anew, and we rise with the day."

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one. The MC, Jenilee, is a quiet girl who has had to grow up quick and become a caretaker. In this story, she struggles with what has been her norm and is now finding her voice and her own way.

I enjoyed the journey and I enjoyed the POVs in this one. Everyone had room to grow, not just Jenilee. I liked the different tangents. It kept things interesting.

This one was slow moving but that worked well when it came to character development. Overall, I liked this one. So 3 stars.

[Susan White-Riggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok, not the most exciting of stories

[Barbara Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Hope Road by Lisa Wingate begins with a tornado hitting the small town of Poetry, Missouri. Twenty-one-year-old Jenilee Lane is home alone, her father and brother having gone to a cattle auction in Kansas City.. Their house is spared, but Jenilee discovers her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Gibson, and the woman’s granddaughter trapped under debris across their storm cellar.

Jenilee and her family had not been close to their neighbors. Jenilee’s father had a bad temper and kept the family to themselves. They were often regarded as “white trash” by the townspeople. But Jenilee is the only help available, so she gets her neighbors out from the cellar just before Mrs. Gibson’s son and daughter-in-law come.

To keep busy, Jenilee and Mrs. Gibson go to the armory, the only large building in town still standing. Along the way, Jenilee picks up pieces of debris she finds: parts of letters, pictures, certificates.

The veterinarian is the only medical help at the armory until a doctor stranded in the storm is brought in. Jenilee had worked for the vet and seems to have a natural way of calming frightened people while they wait for help.

Jenilee continues going to the armory while waiting to hear about her father and brother. One day she decides to tape the paraphernalia she found on a wall there so people can find their lost treasures. This blossoms into giving hope to people.

Mrs. Gibson begins to see there is more to Jenilee than she’d thought. She also runs into an injured man at the armory with whom she’d had a long-running feud. At first she can’t spare a kind word for him. But she sees sides to him that she had forgotten were there.

As neighbors help neighbors and helpers come from others areas, they see each other with fresh vision and discover good things can arise from tragedies.

The book touches on multiple themes: the difficulties of an abusive family; how we can too easily misjudge others; the need to let go of the past; the fact that difficulties can bring out the best and worst in people; and faith, hope, and forgiveness

Some of my favorite quotes:

I walked to the kitchen, shuffling the way I do when my knees are like old plow handles and my joints are rusted shut.

It’s humbling to realize maybe you ain’t as good as someone you’ve spent years looking down on.

That part of you that wants to care for other folks is like fresh milk. You might as well pour it out as you go along the path. It don’t . . . keep in a bucket . . . very long.

In town after town, people were building anew. Towns just like our own—small, imperfect places beneath which hid the potential for something larger, something stronger, something we may never have seen, if not for the disaster.

The book is the second in a series of five, the sequel to Tending Roses. It’s been a few months since I read the first book, but I didn’t see any characters I recognized in this one. In the author’s notes at the end of the book, she explains one distant connection with the first book which will be delved into later.

There were a few “damns” and misuses of the Lord’s name. But otherwise, this was a great book.

[Debbie Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the small town of Poetry, Missouri has approximately 12 tornadoes rip through the land, the entire town becomes flattened and demolished. People are missing, pets are gone and nothing remains standing where their houses were.
The families in this town have lived here for most their lives. Everyone knows everyone. There is the Garden Club which consists of mostly old gossiping women who hold dim views of folks who don’t have their same values. If the Garden Club doesn’t like you, your family is an outcast. This is so for Jenilee Lane, age 21, and her family consisting of two brothers and an alcoholic daddy, who no one could tolerate.
Jenilee is a main character and they live on a farm outside of town. Mama has unfortunately died of cancer and left them to fend for themselves. Another main character is Mrs. Eudora Gibson, a granny who lives on a neighboring farm. She is an interesting character that I grew to love. She would say exactly what she thought. Very refreshing!
Jenilee starts the story by rescuing her neighbor, Granny Gibson and her grand daughter who is stuck in a collapsing cellar after the tornadoes. They develop a friendship that blossoms and Granny guides Jenilee while her daddy and brother are injured and in the hospital. Jenilee develops a strength in character that she never had.
She helps out at the tents with emergency treatment and triage with an out of town doctor and finds favor with townsfolk who never gave her a chance. Granny helps Jenilee chase dreams that appeared to be impossible. Jenilee will have an opportunity to leave Poetry. Will she let go of her past and leave?
…The criticism and skepticism in this town is all about to change AFTER the tornadoes come. People start talking again to neighbors and drop their rigid views, and the old stories of bad situations begin to fad away. It is refreshing to see people step up to help others in need, providing meals and shelter, during extreme devastation. It actually brought a town back together. Secrets of the past are revealed…hurt feelings become healed. Though people have lost so much they have regained hope and love for each other and courage to rebuild.
This is a very heart warming story. It also has a touch of spiritual meaning in it that I love.
One of the things in the book I loved;“Do not pray for miracles. Only God can know what miracles he will send. Pray for the strength to open the door when the knock comes. The sound is ever so soft. Listen well”.

[Christine Goodnough · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling well-spun story about a community facing a natural disaster. The two main characters, Jenilee Lane and her neighbour Eudora Gibson, take turns with their first-person narration of the aftermath of a tornado.

Jeni is from a "white trash" dysfunctional family. Her father is a Nam vet, angry and abusive, usually drunk. Her mother died of cancer some years back. Her older brother ran off and joined the army, leaving Jeni and her brother Nate to deal with their Daddy's depression and rages. They eke out an existence on their small Missouri farm on Good Hope Road.

One afternoon, after Daddy has taken Nate to the city stockyards, a storm blows up and a twister cuts a wide swath through their area, leaving major damage in its wake. Their farm is spared, but her neighbours and their local town, Poetry, get hit bad. She heads out to see what she can do, saves one of her neighbours, helps out in town, all the while wondering about her father and brother. Were they safe in the city when the tornado hit, or on the road somewhere?

Eudora is the neighbour down the road, a widow lady who has heretofore turned up her nose at the no-account Lanes. Until the day the tornado hits and it's Jeni who pulls her and her granddaughter out of the debris. An up-and-doing type, Eudora joins Jeni in helping the victims gathered at the Poetry armory. The storm has not only destroyed homes and streets, but stirred up long-standing hostilities between neighbours, and leads to some amazing new beginnings.

Well written with steady high drama. I found this story realistic and the conclusion satisfying.

[Donna Pfeiffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

It takes a lot of courage to read this book all the way to the end, but well worth it for the love it will fill your heart with. A story about a typical town who becomes devastated by a natural disaster. Even though many people lost so much of what they owned and treasured, they come to realize that good could come out of this hurt to make them into different individuals. The author reminds us that a moth must struggle, laboring very hard, to break out of it's cocoon. If it didn't fight it's way out, inspite of all the difficulty, it would be too heavy and the wings would be under developped, not having any strength to fly. A beautiful picture of how God uses hard times to make us fit for the road of life. Tears throughout, but well worth the read to care for the hurts that others face too.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that demonstrates how during a tragedy miracles can happen and favorable life changes can sometimes come as a result. Most of the story is about a small town recovering from a devastating tornado and the way many of them learn things about themselves in the process. I am hoping the next book tells what the final result was of these life choices. The author is excellent at character development; I felt like I got to know them well. I also liked the fact that it dealt with forgiving even those who don’t deserve it and how tough that is to accomplish.

[Sue Rupnow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it!! Especially Loved the ending!
My only 2 picky reasons for not giving it 5 stars, were that at times I was feeling like, "This whole book, or the majority of it takes place in the span of just a few days practically?" In that way, it felt slow going for a while. Also, I was hoping for a romance to bloom or begin by the end, between the main character and one mentioned near the beginning of the book...but maybe this story continues in another book in the series? There was one other thing I had hoped to be a little more resolved, but dont want to give it away.
Anyways, I loved it!☺️

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I liked this even better than Tending Roses! I read it in two days, which for me is unheard of. It’s the story of what happens to a small town in the aftermath of a bunch of tornadoes. And how badly we can misjudge people. Told I’m the voices of two very different characters. I will admit I didn’t want the story to end.

[Jenessa Tippetts · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I think Lisa Wingate is becoming one of my favorite authors. I didn’t think the second book would have been as good as the first. (Tending Roses) but it was just about as good! The beginning was a little slow for me but the story captured me and I loved it! Great message about what trials can tell us and what they do to help us be better and happier.

[Wendy Ragland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not read a Lisa Wingate book I don’t like. Loved this offering, especially that the vernacular of the Ozarks was used throughout. I spent all my summers on my grandparents’ farm in Montauk (closer to Rolla than Springfield) and this series just makes my heart happy. Can’t wait to read the next in line!