A Bride for Donnigan by Janette Oke

This is the story of how Donnigan gets a bride, Kathleen O'Malley. Kathleen has had it hard growing up after her father died and left her a stepmother to raise her that treated her more like a servant. So when the chance came for her to board a ship and travel to America to marry and start a new life she took it. Donnigan Harrison anxiously awaits Kathleen's arrival. He can't believe he actually "ordered" himself a bride sight unseen. Yet the loneliness on the western frontier made him take the plunge. When they finally meet, get married and move out to his farm, Donnigan is discouraged when Kathleen doesn't seem to want to want to talk or take an interest in the farm. Kathleen though has been taught by her stepmom to keep her thoughts to herself and never express your emotions. They both learn though what the other one needs and you begin to watch their marraige flourish.
This story gave a good understanding of why someone would travel across the sea to marry an unknown and why a man would send for a woman like that. Donnigan was a good man and Kathleen had a little spunk to her. You might think the book is all about "A bride for Donnigan" but it is much more than that. I wasn't sure I was liking how fast the story moved along in Donnigan and Kathleen's life, but I really liked the whole theme of how Donnigan wanted his life to make a difference in his family's life. His searching for answers about God and if He exists was a great ending to this story. I haven't read a Janette Oke book for a long time, but reading this one reminded me just how much I appreciate her as an author. This was definately a story worth reading and then keeping.