Hearts of Iron

Hearts of Iron
By: Kathleen Benner Duble

The year is 1820. Imagine living in an 'iron' community. Everyone in town knows your name. Everyone knows your business. Despite this you love where you live. You're only a teenager. You are trying to find yourself, do chores, work, and help out your community all at the same time. You think you've fallen in love with your best friend but you aren't sure. Life can be stressful. At least that's the way it is for Lucy Pettee. Not only does Lucy have all of the above going on, but her father has just informed her that she is to marry someone and move back to Boston where they are originally from. Lucy can't imagine leaving her best friend Jesse, her father, or the mountains. Everyone is busy preparing to work at the forge for the summer months. When Jesse's brother gets into an accident, things start to fall apart. Jesse wants to leave the mountains. Lucy wants to stay. Suddenly they become distant. Everything Lucy has every known is rearranged. Will Lucy and Jesse become more than friends? Will she marry Samuel? What is the forge? You'll have to read this inspiring story to find out.

Reading this story inspired me and actually made me feel like I was inside the story. I could relate with Lucy in several ways even though our lives are totally different. One thing I enjoyed was that this was the first time I had ever heard of an 'iron community'. Learning what life was like around this time and in these communities was very interesting to me. This is definitely a book I won't forget.