Title: Miracles on Maple Hill
Author: Virginia Sorensen
Newbery Award Year: 1957
Time: During the 1950s, not too long after the end of World War II
Place: Pennsylvania, primarily at a northern farm called Maple Hill (although the family also has a home in Pittsburgh)
When Marley and Joe’s father returns home after being a POW in World War II, everything is different. He needs a place to heal, and so the family goes to stay at Maple Hill, the family farmhouse where Marley and Joe’s mother spent much time growing up. The book cycles through a year at Maple Hill, chronicling sugar season and summer flowers and deep snows and even a hermit that lives nearby. By the end of the story, Marley is sure that Maple Hill has brought forth all sorts of miracles for her family.
I went into this book with high expectations because the premise seems so sweet and engaging. I did feel like there was value in the story, but I will admit that no one in our family deeply connected with any of the characters. I thought the story line about Marley and Joe’s father’s PTSD from World War II was also somewhat glossed over, as he seemed to quickly heal in a way that seemed not believable.
Our rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️