IN ALL GOOD FAITH
BY LIZA NASH TAYLOR

I absolutely loved this remarkable and beautifully written novel of historical fiction that after I read it for the first time I re-read it again! Perhaps this novel had so much to offer all at once. I had so enjoyed and was charmed by all of the character's even the secondary ones that I couldn't let them go. I loved learning so much of the rich historical events that happened during the early 1930's. When I got to the Author's Note at the end and I read that she had drawn inspiration from William Kennedy's great novel "Ironweed," that was a Pulitzer Prize Winner, I knew why this one had such an authentic feel. Yet, this novel depicts an uplifting cast of lovable character's told in two very different parallel narratives in age, both May Craig and Dorrit Sykes. May is a cheerful and kind mother of two very adorable young children and wife to lawyer Byrd Craig. Dorrit Sykes is a seventeen year old Dickensian girl who is wise beyond her years. Dorrit is named after Amy in "Little Dorrit." Her last name Sykes was also a nod to Charles Dickens in "Oliver Twist."

Dorrit Marie Sykes has just lost her mother tragically because her mom was a devout believer in praying instead of seeking help from a doctor or going to the hospital. She tragically dies from refusing medical care in an apartment in Boston. Dorrit, who is an avid reader discovers for herself that her mother's life could have been saved had she sought medical attention. She also learns to overcome her own fears which she called, "the fidgets," by reading the same medical book. Dorrit suffered from anxiety but she challenged herself to overcome it by raising her hand in school and sitting in the church her family attended or going to the movie theater. Dorrit, is brave and she immediately sets out to help her father earn money by using the sewing skills that her mother taught her. Her father, Roy works at the New England Confectionery Company fixing machines. This brought back fond memories for me as I remembered the Necco Wafers candy that I ate when I was a child. The descriptions of the Boston Public Library were spot on as well. Dorrit and her father and brother are poor but industrious. Dorrit wonders to herself just what kind of God takes a loved one for praying instead of going to the doctor. She is a hard worker and doesn't expect handouts but she will be tested for her survival skills when during the Bonus march in Washington DC her father leaves her penniless and to fend for herself when he gets arrested for throwing a rock at policemen.

The Bonus March was an event that I knew little about but found it fascinating. Thousands of Veterans from the First World War marched at the Capitol with expectations of receiving their pay for serving their Country. They expected one dollar per day serving their Country at home and one dollar and twenty-five cents from serving abroad per day. The Veteran's thought since the United States had fallen in rough financial times that President Hoover would pay them their bonuses early. Dorrit and her father travel by foot and get picked up by two nice Veteran's named Bert and Dynamite. She is left to travel hopping trains with them and their plan is to ride the rails hopping on an extra box car while trying to work in Georgia on a Peach farm earning wages. Things don't go according to plan and she gets separated from them in a skirmish when a man tries to take her father's toolbox from her.

May Craig lives in Keswick, Virginia on a farm and has just visited the bank with her father, Henry. They both went to try and obtain a loan for a candy business that May wants to start. Her husband. Byrd is a lawyer who travels to Washington, DC by train. Byrd, works for the Federal Trade Commission instead of his private practice dealing with foreclosures and bankruptcies. May and Byrd grew up next door to each other on adjoining farms before they were married. A tragedy happens and Byrd's family estate almost goes into foreclosure and almost gets sold by the same bank that wouldn't lend to May and her father. The community rallies together and basically bid cents for a 529 acre farm with a Brick house and several buildings. The good people from the area hand Byrd back his childhood home, land and farming equipment.

While Byrd is at work during the week May visits her wealthy best friend Elsie who hands May a check that is from her trust fund. Elsie wants May to use the money to turn her farmer's market into a candy manufacturing business. The descriptions of the candy that May and her partner Blue made sounded so delicious that it actually made me hungry. May wants to develop and invent a candy bar that nourishes a person for the better part of the day. She and Blue come up with their own recipes but she has not told Byrd because he thinks it could be too risky. May uses cherries, raisins, pecans, cocoa, eggs, butter and many more ingredients. She buys locally to support local farmers and takes the train to Richmond's biggest department store dropping off mouth watering samples in boxes tied in blue ribbons. She makes trips to drop samples off at fancy hotels and the fancy department stores and she has success with them ordering more.

This novel really is about adapting to create triumph over adversity. I really enjoyed the escape this historical novel gave me. It was fun and enchanting reading about both Dorrit and May's perseverance during a difficult time period for both of them and learning so much more historical details. It was very rewarding reading about wholesome and creative people finding ways to survive and overcome their obstacles. I highly, highly recommend this novel to lovers of historical fiction. This was a welcome respite for me to be entertained while being informed about details that were happening both to these two similar strong female protagonist's and others and how to adapt during
a very difficult time period. The plotting and characterizations were truly brilliant and stunning. I will be sharing this wonderful novel with friend's and family and am going to read this author's first novel.

Publication Date: August 10, 2021

Thank you to Net Galley, Liza Taylor Nash and Blackstone Publishing for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

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I really enjoyed reading In All Good Faith by Liza Taylor. The story is easy to read and the experience has twists that I wasn't expecting. The great depression has some similarities with our current times and brought some perspective with it. I find Historical Fiction is so fun to read; you get some nuggets of real experiences and historical data wrapped in a fun fictional story. I like to tell myself I'm learning something from it!
This is a story of Dorrit finding her voice and finding her way in a tumultuous time in history when she is literally left with nothing. About Amy and her family fulfilling her dream of being a successful business owner and being able to help provide for her family during a time when money is scarce, and livelihoods are being ripped away. It’s a beautiful story of marriage and the sordid ways we survive during very hard times; how to be true to yourself but also be true to the vows and promises you make to each other. And a story about the family you are born with, the family you choose and the friends who support you and become family as well. How these relationships can help or hurt you during difficult times and how important they are.
All that being said it took me awhile to get into the book but once I was settled in I was entranced with the story of Dorrit and May; give yourself time to get into it while the background and foundation is being laid because it’s worth it. Thank you Liz and Blackstone Publishing for allowing me the opportunity to read this book.

In All Good Faith
By Liza Nash Taylor
Blackstone Publishing (August 10, 2021)

I loved this book so much and could not put it down. Well, I did put it down because I had to go to work, but I didn’t want to put it down. I wanted to read every word right away and skim nothing.

In All Good Faith is the story of May and Dorrit, both trying to survive the Great Depression. Sixteen-year-old Dorrit lives in Boston and takes in sewing to help feed her family. Her mother has recently died and her father is barely able to be a parent. Dorrit begins to questions her faith, wondering why it did not save her mother and why her “nervous spells” haven’t been cured.

When Dorrit’s father decides to attend the Veterans’ Bonus March in Washington, D.C. in June 1932, she decides to go with him, thinking it might be a good way to overcome her lifelong anxiety. It does not go well for either of them. Dorrit ends up alone, penniless, and terrified. She relates her subsequent adventures to those of her book hero, Nancy Drew, and wonders how Nancy would react to similar circumstances. Eventually she realizes that “real life was much messier…than a Nancy Drew book.”

Meanwhile, in Virginia, May, her husband Byrd, and their two children, are trying to hang on to what’s left of their livelihood. Byrd has to take a job out of town and May gets the opportunity to start a candy business, but only if Byrd will agree. Secrets threaten to come between them and May wonders if she is “operating in good faith.”

Through several harrowing events, Dorrit lands at May’s doorstep. May also lost her mother and she can’t help but see a bit of herself in young Dorrit. May wants to help her and is able, in a small way, to become a surrogate parent.

This is a sequel to Etiquette for Runaways, though I didn’t know that until the end when I read the afterward and it didn’t matter to my understanding or enjoyment of the book. The author is great at description. I loved the characters of May and Dorrit and the secondary characters were also well developed. In All Good Faith is a story of hardship, hope, love, and forgiveness. It's a story of family bonds and of never giving up on yourself, your future, or your family. This book rates five stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

This story alternates between two characters. May’s story is more of a family story. I wanted her character to stand out more. Dorrit goes through self-discovery, and usually I like those characters, but I wasn’t fully grasped by her character.

I got interested in this story because of the time period – the Great Depression. May’s family business since 1849 doesn’t bring any profits. They hardly break even. People who are their customers fall deeper into debt on their credit. Thus, the business can hardly operate.

And there are those wandering the paths in search of a job, which is hard to find. But hopefully a good-hearted person will still feed them even if they can’t offer a job. To let another traveler know where those good-hearted people are they use signs. And it is interesting to see those different signs (illustration provided) and what they mean.

Dorrit’s march to DC relates events happening in DC and what people are fighting for at the time.

The story gives a good depiction of the time period. However, I struggled to stay engaged with either heroine. I don’t know if it’s a personal thing or others feel it as well, but whenever I struggle to stay engaged with a character, the pace seems slow to me. I prefer stories moving a bit faster with a very strong female character.

In all Good Faith is a stand alone sequel to Etiquette for Runaways, Liza Nash Taylor’s debut novel. I have not read the first novel and I don’t feel like I needed to read it in order to fully understand and enjoy this story.

This was a story illustrating the difficult times many people suffered through during the Great Depression. It is told through the POV of two different women, May and young Dorrit. “Now, in the winter of 1931, shame and destitution seemed to dominate the national news. Heartbreaking stories of lost savings, evictions, unemployment, and unrest were everywhere, not just in the cities, but here at home, in small, rural towns like Keswick, Virginia. And there were no signs that things were getting any better.” (p. 144)

The writing of this novel is very descriptive. Beautifully worded descriptions. Dorrit’s anxiety and panic in the beginning chapters are palpable.. “ Sometimes it was an invisible feather, a wisp skimming the back of her neck. Sometimes it was a spindle, winding tight inside her chest until she breathed like a cornered rabbit. And sometimes—the worst times—fear was a thing with teeth and claws. It rode on streetcars and hid in movie theaters. It came to church and sat down beside her.” (p. 148) Also, the author did an amazing job at incorporating real life events and news headlines of that time period into her story. Often, it was just quick mentions, but it made the story feel authentic and it seemed as if the book was actually written during the early 1930’s. It was very well researched.

The story did take a while for me to get in to. I found the perspective of May to be very slow. There just wasn’t too much happening there. The story of Dorrit, however, was wonderful. After the first few chapters of set-up, Dorrit’s story was interesting and filled with adventure. Dorrit showed a lot of personal growth as she learned about herself and the world. I loved this character. She had some spunk, worked hard at bettering herself, and although she was always scared and suffered from anxiety, she was so brave.

Thank you Net Galley and the publishers for a digital copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

#InAllGoodFaith # NetGalley