Genre:
Historical
Historical
Playing By Heart
by Anne Mateer
| -From the back cover- Lula Bowman has finally achieved her dream: a teaching position and a scholarship to continue her college education in mathematics. But then a shocking phone call from her sister, Jewel, changes everything. With a heavy heart, Lula returns to her Oklahoma hometown to do right by her sister, but the only teaching job available in Dunn is combination music instructor/basketball coach. Lula doesn't even consider those real subjects! Determined to prove herself, Lula commits to covering the job for the rest of the school year. Reluctantly, she turns to the boys' coach, Chet, to learn the newfangled game of basketball. Chet is handsome and single, but Lula has no plans to fall for a local boy. She's returning to college and her scholarship as soon as she gets Jewel back on her feet. However, the more time she spends around Jewel's family, the girls' basketball team, music classes, and Chet, the more Lula comes to realize what she's given up in her single-minded pursuit of degree after degree. God is working in her heart, and her future is starting to look a lot different than she'd expected. A wonderful historical! I've been reading quite a few books from new-to-me authors lately and Playing By Heart is one of them. I've heard a lot of great things about Anne Mateer's book and I'm glad to say that they were all true. I absolutely loved the duel perspectives Anne Mateer used in this book. Events and situations are seen from both Lula's and Chet's viewpoints. After the first few pages the switches were easy to follow and in my opinion made a big difference in how far I was immersed into the lives of the main characters. |  This Book received a 4 Bark rating.
 Anne Mateer |
I think what really tugged at me in this story was the way that Lula and Chet dealt with the, at times, unreasonable and painful expectations from family. Sometimes the people that hurt us the most are those we are closest to, they are also the people that we most fear disappointing. The other thing that caught me was how God's plans and our plans are often not quite the same. He takes us in directions we never expected but where we are truly Supposed to be.
As a person who isn't into sports but loves history I really liked learning about the early years and trials of girls basketball. Set against the backdrop of WWI made it even more interesting. A detailed, fun, and thoughtful historical novel.
Playing By Heart was my first Anne Mateer book but, believe me, it won't be my last.
Tell Tale Book Reviews gives Playing By Heart by Anne Mateer a 4 Bark rating.
As a person who isn't into sports but loves history I really liked learning about the early years and trials of girls basketball. Set against the backdrop of WWI made it even more interesting. A detailed, fun, and thoughtful historical novel.
Playing By Heart was my first Anne Mateer book but, believe me, it won't be my last.
Tell Tale Book Reviews gives Playing By Heart by Anne Mateer a 4 Bark rating.
| . | Paperback: 320 pages Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (September 16, 2014) ISBN-10: 0764210653 ISBN-13: 978-0764210655 | . |
| . | PRINT | KINDLE | . |
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