Originally published in 1967, Christy is a historical fiction novel based on the experience of the author's mother teaching at a Christian mission in the Smoky Mountains in the early 1900s. Both the real Leonora and the fictionalized Christy at 19 leave their homes in North Carolina to teach children of poverty in the mountains of Tennessee. Having grown up with Leonora's stories, Catherine Marshall was able to make the people of Appalachia come alive. She told the story of their hardships, but also of their hearts and spirits. Marshall allows us to experience vicariously the difficulty of living without basic necessities in situations we would find primitive and grossly unclean. She then leads us to see the mountain people as valued individuals rather than being identified by group stereotypes. We celebrate their achievements, sorrow over their losses, and cheer on their best efforts. The mentoring character of Miss Alice Henderson, a Quaker mission worker from Pennsylvania, helps Christy, the young pastor David Grantland, and the reader come to deeper spiritual understandings.

Christy is not a book that you will soon forget, and is likely one that you will want to reread from time to time. I owe, in a large part, my going into the field of education to having read this book while in high school. Having read it again over the years, it was like coming together with old friends as I read it again five years into my retirement. While the book is based on the community of Chapel Hollow in the Morgan Branch Valley of Tennessee, I am always transported back into the book each time I visit Cades Cove just outside of Gatlinburg, Tennessee and near the town of Townsend where the television story based on this book was filmed. The cabins there are much as I picture those belonging to the book's characters.

I highly recommend this book to all readers, no matter what genre one usually prefers to read in. This timeless classic is too good to miss, and will live in your heart for years to come.

I am grateful to NetGalley and Evergreen Farm an imprint of Gilead Publishing for providing me with a copy of Christy in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to provide a positive review and received no monetary compensation.

I gave this book a 5 out of 5 star review. It was an enjoyable and I would recommend. to others. Generously provided to me through NetGalley

This is a beautiful classic. I loved this book from the start all the way to the end. I have been a book worm all my life and I’ll never know how I missed this read when it first came out in 1967. I am just so thankful it came out on Kindle and I was given the chance to read and review from Gilead Publishing through NetGalley. I will definitely read this one over and over again. This story now sits in the top 5 of my all-time favorite books ever.
It is beautifully written, the descriptions are so awesome, you can feel the cold snow on the children’s feet, can feel the fire in the pot belly stove, can picture Prince and Buttons, and the people of Cutter Gap, especially the children, the shacks they lived in, the pigs, the mission house, all of it. Catherine Marshall was a wonderful author, and what a story she could tell, such an amazing rendition of her mother’s first years as a one room school teacher. She was a courageous young girl to take out at the age of 19 into a land completely unknown to her. So glad Catherine shared her story.
I’m not going to go into the description of the story, just read it, it’s one of those books that you will have really missed something if you don’t. I do not give out that high of praise for very many books. This book has it all, love loss, hope, courage, faith and the ending is priceless. So good……
This is a beautiful book, I know, I’ve said that several times, and I highly recommend to everyone, young, old, city dwellers or country folk. One of those that you hate to see the story come to an end. I will miss my time with Cutter Gap. More than 5*****’s if I could.

CHRISTY by CATHERINE MARSHALL is the story of a young girl, Christy Huddleston, who leaves her comfortable life to become a teacher in the Smoky Mountains. It is based on a true story - that of the author's mother.
Christy lives in the mission house with the pastor, David Grantland's, mother, and her schoolroom doubles as the church on Sundays. All her ideas of organized lessons fall by the wayside when she meets the smelly, shoeless children, of mixed ages, only a few of whom really want to learn.
She has lived a sheltered life and is very nearly overcome, not only by the smell of unwashed bodies, but by the superstition and violent feuding amongst the families, some feuds going very far back.
It is in this rather hostile situation, with the help of the godly Quaker, Alice Henderson, and the dedication of Dr McNeil, that she gradually turns from being a young woman who is trying in her own strength to help these people, to someone who realizes she truly needs to know the Lord for herself as He is the only One who can make a difference. It is interesting to see her spiritual awakening.
The story takes place in 1912. It is both heart rending and heart warming - a truly enjoyable and inspirational read.
I was given a free copy of the book by Gilead Publishing from NetGalley. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

This was a. favorite of mine as a teenager, but I haven’t reread it in many years. I was curious to see whether it would hold up. Overall, I think it did. It is dated, and that shows particularly in the classist portrayal of the mountain people. But Christy in still a spunky and engaging heroine., and the love story is still as sweet as I remember.

This book is a classic book that everyone needs to have in their collection! I read this book in just a few short days as it was a book I couldn't put down. I remember I read this book back in Middle School but it was always a good book to pick up and read. This book really allows your mind to go back to the setting in 1912 with Christy. It helps you think that you at one day could have lived just as Christy Huddleston had all those years ago. This is a book that even the younger kids would enjoy besides us adults as this is just a great historical book. It brings the life back into the Cutter Gap area. I highly recommend this book to all those who want to read about what life is like living in the mountains of Tennessee and even North Carolina back in 1912.

This is a classic, if you've never read it you are in for a treat. Come along with Christy and discover the world of Cutter Gap. This book has action, adventure, hardship, friendship and the love of God. It is wonderfully written. Thank you Gilead Publishing and NetGalley for the free copy of this book. This is my honest opinion. I really enjoyed reading this book again.