Undaunted Hope by Jody Hedlund

The Undaunted Hope by Jody Hedlund is set in the 1870's in upper Michigan.  Tessa Taylor has arrived in a small mining town to serve as the town's teacher.  One of the first things she learned is they were expecting a male teacher.  She has to fight for her rights to stay.

As she starts teaching the children all learn to love her and she especially care for one of her older students Henry who is a very bright boy.  Two of the students are the children of the widowed lighthouse keeper.  Michael, along with his brother Alex, both take care of the lighthouse and both fall hard for Tessa.  Tessa soon realizes that someone has been watching her.  What do they want from her?  Do they know of her past and the mistake she made that she is desperately trying to put behind her?  Could it be Percival Updegraff, the man who runs the town with a iron fist and no one can do anything to go against him?

Jody Hedlund has done a remarkable job!  I absolutely loved the sarcastic humor and banter between Tessa and Alex.  She does a fantastic job of drawing you into the story.  You feel for each of the characters as all the events unfold.  She draws you and and you can see the small town, the lighthouse and each of the characters.

The banter between Alex and Tessa is wonderfully done.  You can feel the  tension between the two brothers and what Alex felt when he makes a decision, he believes to be the right one.

I absolutely loved how at the end, after the story ends, she tells of the real town the story was based off.  She tells the story of the teacher Tessa was inspired from.  Not only that but her prized student Henry and the man who ran the town were also based off of real people. (And I love what the town did to the real Percival!)  It made the story come alive even more.

I received this book from Bethany House Publishers for the sole purpose of this review.  I was not required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are entirely my own.