Sweeter Than Birdsong

Music offers Kate sweet refuge from her troubles . . . but real freedom is sweeter.

 
I love the book Sweeter than Birdsong not simply because it's an inspirational romantic story, but because it is based on the lives of real people: Kate Winter, who was the first American woman to receive a college diploma (from Otterbein College in Ohio, to be precise) and Ben Hamby, who was a songwriter and abolitionist before the Civil War.

A stirring novel of hope and faith inspired by real events.

The author, Rosslyn Elliott, wrote a captivating story which kept me hooked.  I loved and admired her characters.  The heroine, Kate, changes very much throughout the story; she overcomes both severe shyness (which I've struggled with in my own life and could relate to) and she realizes she can do so much more to bring people to freedom than she ever realized.  When life opens Kate's eyes to a great need, she doesn't turn away from it like so many people sadly do--she faces it head-on.  The decisions and the sacrifices she makes to bring slaves to the freedom she knows is touching and powerful.

Kate can no longer deny the need to find her courage-and her voice-if she is to sing a new song for their future.

This book made me want to delve further into the true stories of Kate Winter and Ben Hamby, and it gave me a better understanding of the  Underground Railroad.  Sweeter than Birdsong was a fast, easy read, but it was by no means purely entertainment.  It is something very much worth reading and I highly recommend it!

Special thanks to the wonderful people at Litfuse for providing me with this book to review!