Dinah Hubley is the daughter of a prostitute, living in her mother's brothel in Chicago. When her mother falls ill, and her madam threatens Dinah with eviction for both of them, Dinah agrees to sacrifice her innocence for her mother's security and her own escape. However, the choice damages Dinah more than she could have foreseen, and as she flees to Kansas to work in a Harvey hotel, she longs to put her past behind her and work her way to a life of respect. Once in Kansas, she's forced to hide her true self from all of those around her, lest she be fired for an immoral past. This includes distancing herself from her friendly roommate Ruthie, their coworkers, and the intriguing egg man Amos Ackerman. Can she continue to keep herself removed from the people in her life who are trying to show her kindness? If they learn her secrets, will they distance themselves from her?
Oh, how this book made me hurt for Dinah. Everything she'd worked so hard to avoid while living in the brothel came crashing in on her in one self-sacrificing decision. It's easy to look at what was coming for her and think that she should have known what she was sacrificing, but the author does such a good job of painting Dinah's innocent nature and remorse, that Dinah becomes the wronged party and you only hope for things to turn out well for her.
I also appreciated the author's handling of Dinah's search for God's love. She desperately wanted to believe when Ruthie told her that God loved her, but her internal guilt and shame make it hard for her to trust that God cares for her. Even Ruthie's relationship with Dinah felt realistic - she'd been raised as a pastor's daughter to treat others with kindness and point them to God, but in her own desires she found that jealousy and envy sometimes got in the way of doing the right thing.
There were several side story lines that I wish the author had followed up on with more detail, but it would probably have made for a more scattered feeling story, or else it would have made the book too long to be enjoyable. Overall, I give this book 4 stars. It dealt with topics not discussed easily, and it did it well, while keeping the characters well-rounded and honest. Not everything worked out the way the characters wanted, there were consequences to their actions, yet there was God's grace and love to bring healing.
You can find Through the Deep Waters HERE.
You can find the author's website HERE.
Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review
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