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conversations.value: What is a description for a book titled All Things New about BR><BR, South, BR>Josephine with the genre: Christian Books & Bibles, Literature & Fiction?
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conversations.value: The war is over. The South has lost.<BR> <BR>Josephine Weatherly struggles to pick up the pieces of her life when her family returns to their Virginia plantation. But the realities of life after the war cannot be denied: her home and land are but a shell of their previous grandeur; death has claimed her father and brother; and her remaining brother, Daniel, has returned home bitter and broken. <BR><BR> Her life of privilege, a long-ago dream.<BR> <BR>Josephine soon realizes that life is now a matter of daily survival--and recognizes that Lizzie, as one of the few remaining servants, is the one she must rely on to teach her all she needs to know. Josephine's mother, too, vows to rebuild White Oak...but a bitter hatred fuels her. <BR><BR> Can hope--and a battered faith in God--survive amid the devastation?<BR> <BR><BR> <BR>In her bestselling tradition, the author brings to life the difficult years of Reconstruction by interweaving the stories of three women--daughter, mother, and freed slave--in a riveting tale.<BR><BR>&quot;Seven-time Christy winner the author ( Wonderland Creek ) deftly weaves this story about the Reconstruction era. Strong heroines with depth make this a sure bet not only for CF fans, but mainstream fiction readers as well. Recommend it to readers of Lynn Morris and Sandra Byrd.&quot; -- Library Journal<BR><BR> <BR> &quot;The Reconstruction-era South is realistically recreated.&quot; --Publishers Weekly
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conversations.value: What is a description for a book titled All Things New about Alma, California with the genre: Literature & Fiction, Poetry?
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conversations.value: Alma lives in northern California. She is active serving in several creative ways; including in home care service and helping homeless women and children. Alma enjoys sculpting, painting, drawing and writing children peoms and books.
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conversations.value: What is the first four paragraphs for this book?
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conversations.value: All Things New
  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
  Josephine Weatherly thought she'd already lived through the darkest hour of this endless war, but she had been wrong. Now all hope was truly gone. She huddled with her sister by the upstairs window in her aunt's home, watching smoke churn into the sky above Richmond, Virginia, like thunderheads. How could the city where she and her family had taken refuge descend into such terror and anarchy? President Davis and the Confederate government were fleeing. Hungry mobs were looting downtown. The enemy invasion everyone had long feared was about to begin.
  No place is safe, Josephine wanted to say, but she held her tongue when she saw the fear in her sister's eyes. Sixteen-year-old Mary had gnawed her fingernails and the flesh around them until her fingertips were raw. "Stop doing that," Josephine said, pulling Mary's hand away from her mouth.
  For all of her twenty-two years, Jo had tried to be good and to do what the Bible said, but God hadn't paid her any notice. Nor had He answered a single one of her prayers during these unending years of war. She had asked Him to protect her two brothers as they'd marched off to battle, but Samuel had been killed, and no one had heard from Daniel in weeks. She had begged God to watch over Daddy after the Home Guard drafted him for duty, but he'd died of pneumonia last winter. Josephine had pleaded with the Almighty to watch over her and Mary and their mother, three women left all alone on their sprawling plantation, outnumbered by slaves. In reply, He'd sent a flood of Yankees into the countryside, forcing her family to flee here to Richmond for safety. She didn't know if she would ever see White Oak Plantation again.
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conversations.value: What is another paragraph?
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conversations.value: He kissed her again when he left after supper, saying, "Don't you worry now. I'll be back before long." But the sky grew dark and the stars came out, and Lizzie watched through the cabin window as the moon traveled across the night sky—and Otis still wasn't home. Roselle and Rufus and Jack were sleeping, but Lizzie didn't even bother crawling beneath the covers.
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conversations.value: Swap the first and the last sentence.
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conversations.value: Roselle and Rufus and Jack were sleeping, but Lizzie didn't even bother crawling beneath the covers. I'll be back before long." But the sky grew dark and the stars came out, and Lizzie watched through the cabin window as the moon traveled across the night sky—and Otis still wasn't home.He kissed her again when he left after supper, saying, "Don't you worry now.
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conversations.value: What is the last five paragraphs? End with the sentence ' She and her husband have three children and make their home in Illinois.'.
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conversations.value: He poured a small amount into each of their glasses, then lifted his. "Shall we offer a toast, Eugenia?"
  Josephine stood by the bedroom window in her aunt's house, gazing at the leafy view of Richmond's treetops below her. It seemed as though years had passed since she'd stood here watching flames and smoke churn into the sky as the city burned—and she was surprised to realize it had been only five months. Such a short time, yet so many, many changes!
  In a few minutes Alexander would arrive with the chaplain. They would pronounce their vows to each other in Aunt Olivia's parlor and begin a new life together. Josephine looked down at the ring he had given her and saw that her hands were trembling. She admitted she was scared—but not in the way she had been the last time she'd stood here. The world had seemed to be ending that terrible day, and she had feared what tomorrow would bring when the Yankees arrived. She never would have imagined it would bring Alexander Chandler—and joy.
  In the street below, two men on horseback turned the corner and approached the house. One of them was Alexander. Jo turned from the window, ready to run down the stairs and throw open the door—then she stopped as she heard her mother's voice, speaking to her heart. Tidy your hair, Josephine. And don't run. Young ladies must always walk with poise and grace.
  Lynn Austin is a seven-time Christy Award winner for her historical novels Hidden Places, Candle in the Darkness, Fire by Night, A Proper Pursuit, Until We Reach Home, Though Waters Roar, and While We're Far Apart. In addition to writing, Lynn is a popular speaker at conferences, retreats, and various church and school events. She and her husband have three children and make their home in Illinois.