Back in September we went on vacation to Maine, which included a very long drive up and a long drive back. Along the way, I read an ebook titled Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay. One would assume that this book is going to be another modern retelling of Emma (in which Mr. Knightley is a character. Not so. This story is the retelling of Daddy Long Legs with a conspicuous name borrowed from Austen's novel from long ago.Last year, I bought a copy of the classic, Daddy Long Legs. I remembered enjoying it, so I wanted to see if I would share it with my girls. After reading it, I shelved the book and actually donated it back to the library book sale. I didn't like the moral tone of the book. Sad to say, it's been a while so I can't remember what my specific concerns were, but I had enough concerns to realize that my girls wouldn't enjoy reading it and I wasn't going to force it upon them.
I do like the premise of Daddy Long Legs, though, and it is a fun tale of rescuing a lost girl and giving her hope and a future via the contributions of an anonymous donor.
Ms. Reay follows this formula in a modern setting of Chicago. I liked the characters for the most part, and followed the story easily. But, I was disappointed in the ending. I find that often authors just suddenly wrap things up and they're done. I wanted more. I wanted more development to the ending. That was my source of disappointment in this story. Other than that, it was fine. The heroine is not always likeable and had a lot of rough edges to her, but when you can get past these and sympathize, your heart can follow the story.
Please note that I received a complimentary ecopy of this book for review from Thomas Nelson.
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