So incredibly invigorating. A breath of fresh Tennessee air. ( )

Christy is a historical, inspirational novel that is, in part, biographical, based on the experiences of author Catherine Marshall’s mother, who taught school in a mountain community in the Appalachians in the early 20th century. Mrs. Marshall was quoted as saying that the book is roughly 75% fact, but there were at least two characters and certain situations that were fictionalized. The story follows our title character nineteen-year-old Christy Huddleston through approximately one year of her life. She’s a well-educated, city girl from a fairly well-off family in Asheville, North Carolina. After hearing a doctor, who is the founder of a missions organization, speak at her church about the desperate need for a teacher in the Appalachian region of eastern Tennessee where his mission is starting a new school, Christy is inspired to volunteer. At first, her parents are reluctant to let her go, but her persistence wins the day, and she’s soon off to the rural mountain community of Cutter Gap. During her first few weeks at the mission, she feels out of her element while also experiencing culture shock. She’s expected to educate over sixty students of all ages and ability levels in a single-room schoolhouse that doubles as a church building on Sundays. To make things even more difficult, she finds herself butting up against strange customs and superstitions that are hard for her to understand. However, the abject poverty of her students and their families tug at her heartstrings, inspiring her to seek outside help from wealthy donors, which doesn’t always go quite as planned. She’s also faced with the reality of blockaders who are running moonshine, secretly using her school and some of the older children in their operation, long-standing mountain feuds that sometimes end in murder, and an epidemic of typhoid fever. Through it all, Christy’s mentor, Miss Alice Henderson, a Quaker who runs the mission, encourages her to look for the beauty in both the mountains and the people who live there. As she struggles with her faith and builds friendships with some of the mountain women, Christy is also romantically drawn to both the minister, David Grantland, and the doctor, Neil McNeill, and trying to discern which man might be the best for her, if either.

Christy, the first-person narrator of the story, is both an idealist and an adventurer with a heart for helping people. She’s just finished her first semester of college when she finds herself instantly inspired by the message of Dr. Ferrand, when he comes to speak at her church and doesn’t hesitate to volunteer her services to teach the children of Cutter Gap. However, she didn’t entirely know what she was in for when she accepted the position. She travels by rail to the nearest train station, which is still seven miles away from Cutter Gap, and it has just snowed a great deal. When no one meets her at the station like she expected, she puts her ingenuity and determination to use, convincing the mailman to lead her to the community and walking those miles through the cold and snow. Her first experience there is witnessing the doctor performing an operation on a man who’s fallen into a coma after being hit on the head by a falling tree branch. She immediately feels out of her depth in so many ways, but she, once again, proves tenacious in her mission to do her best to help both her students and their families. Her work isn’t without its frustrations, though, as she finds herself up against the mountain people’s stubbornness and ignorance. But she still manages to find the beauty and exceptionalism around her. She also reaches out to companies seeking donations and is surprised by their generosity, but sometimes it causes a bit of trouble and friction. Later, she learns how to refine her message and take it directly to wealthy potential donors, which proves even more helpful. Ultimately Christy develops a love, compassion and enthusiasm for her newfound family, and also finds herself romantically confused by her feelings for both David and Neil. I really appreciated Christy for her unflagging determination to help others even when she’s running herself into the ground and risking her life, trying to nurse typhoid patients. She has so many great qualities that are needed in any era, but at the same time, she isn’t perfect and can sometimes be a little headstrong. All this in my estimation, though, made her a very relatable and realistic character.

There are many supporting characters who help Christy as she acclimates to her new job. Miss Alice runs the mission at Cutter Gap, as well as having started schools in two other nearby communities, which she travels between on a regular basis. She’s a Quaker who believes the Light lives in everyone and is very kind and compassionate toward all the people she meets. She becomes Christy’s mentor, guiding her spiritually, as well as in her work. David is a young minister fresh out of seminary who was assigned to the mission. He was there before Christy but is almost as out of his element as she is. Because he, too, is an outsider from the city, the people are a little distrustful of him at times. Much like Christy, he struggles with many of the mountain people’s traditions, particularly running moonshine, which causes all sorts of trouble in the community. He also grapples with whether or not he really was meant to become a minister, especially when he has trouble reaching his parishioners. Neil is a widower who lost his wife and the baby she birthed prematurely, which has in part left him agnostic. He is himself a mountain man, born and raised in the area. However, he left to attend medical school, then chose to return to help his people. Because he grew up in Cutter Gap, he understands and has a degree of compassion for their ways that Christy and David don’t. He ends up educating them in more ways than one. All of these characters, along with a plethora of mountain people, both adults and children, create a lively cast.

This was actually my second reading of Christy. However, the first was probably at least thirty or more years ago, so I barely remembered anything about it beyond enjoying it. Over the years since, my faith views have altered significantly, so I wasn’t sure if I would still like it as well. I also tend to have a complicated relationship with inspirational literature, which I oftentimes feel is too pithy, lacking in depth, and depicting a version of faith that seems naive at best or arrogant in its certainties at worst. I’m happy to report, though, that this book stood the test of time and my altering beliefs. All the characters are complex and nuanced. The “good” characters don’t always do the right thing but they learn from their mistakes, while the “bad” characters aren’t all bad, sometimes showing that they can choose the right path. I related to Christy’s and David’s frustrations with many of the mountain people’s superstitions and ignorance, but at the same time, I could also understand Miss Alice’s and Neil’s views, which tended to give them some leeway. There were characters that I maybe didn’t particularly like, but I appreciated that the book never truly demonized anyone. I also liked that the story showed a woman, Miss Alice, as a ministry leader. She basically runs multiple missions and is even mentioned to have preached in the community before David came.

Rather than taking a Pollyanna approach to its faith message, I found a great deal of profundity and sensitivity in it. All of the characters wrestle with their beliefs, whether in the past or the present, which in my experience is the way it usually is in real life. No one chides or browbeats anyone else for their questions, uncertainties, or lack of belief. The author doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of life either. While not graphic in any way, she grapples with topics not often seen in inspirational stories, such as feuding, murder, grooming and sexual assault, death, and poverty. Because of these things the story showed the kind of depth and dimension that I often find lacking in the genre. All of these elements put together is why I still enjoyed Christy after so many years and so many changes in my own life and faith. It was a great story that I can wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who likes historical novels centering around a Christian faith message. I’m very much looking forward to revisiting the television series that was based on it as well. ( )

Read this when I was in high school and I remember liking it. ( )

This warm and heartfelt novel is Catherine Marshall's loving tribute to her mother Lenora Woods' journey to Cutter Gap, in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, to teach its children shortly after the turn of the century. The effect it had on her mother's life and faith is captured with warmth and beauty in this fine audio book. It is made all the more special because it is read by Kellie Martin, who starred in the two-hour television adaptation, and the series that followed.

It is rare when an audio book is this good. Though nothing is ever a substitute for reading the book, having both read this fine novel in the traditional manner, and listened to this audio reading, I can honestly say that if you loved the television series, you will love this. Just as she did in the series, Kellie Martin perfectly captures the great beauty of these mountains and the poverty of its people. Occasional and brief interludes of banjo music frame this heartwarming — and sometimes heartbreaking — thinly disguised biography of a young and exuberant 19 year old girl who falls in love with the children of Cutter gap.

This seems more like a telling of a story than a reading, and that in itself separates it from many other audio books. Martin captures the joy and humor of Christy's time in Cutter Gap, as well as the conflict and resentment as the school and church butted heads over moonshine. She captures the romance that begins to blossom and her divided heart, as her inner emotions are torn between two very different men.

This may be warm family entertainment but it has substance as well. Those who are fans of the beloved bestseller and/or the fine television series it spawned will not be disappointed. The emotions of Christy and her resolve to stay in this place and teach are lovingly brought to life in Kellie Martin’s voice as she reads the wonderful words of Catherine Marshall. Particularly moving is the relationship between Christy and Fairlight Spencer, a strong but delicate woman who offers her friendship. The sadness these mountains could bring upon such a fine and delicate soul is movingly rendered by Kellie Martin. As Fairlight's inner flame begins to grow dim from the blowing winds of hardship and shadows of poverty, we are deeply moved.

I highly recommend this one, even if, like me, you've read it already. It is a loving tribute to Catherine Marshall's mother and the life she chose to live. Filled with love and joy, this is one audio book read by Kellie Martin that you'll savor and enjoy over and over. ( )

Christy Huddleston from Asheville, North Carolina, leaves home to teach in Cutter Gap in Tennessee in the Old Smokey Mountains. When she arrives by train, she has to walk 7 miles through snow to reach the mission house where she will live and teach. She is appalled by the conditions in which these proud people live. She looks forward to working with Alice Henderson, an older Quaker woman who supervises 3 schools in Appalachia. Other main characters are the mission's minister, David Grantland, and the local physician, Neill MacNeil, a descendant of the colony's founder from the Highlands of Scotland. This book has a lot of description as Christy goes about defining her relationship with God and navigating her relationships with the parents and children of Cutter Gap. ( )