ACCIDENTAL FAIRYTALE MOMENTS IN A MORALISTIC TALE — A REVIEW

Shirley Hollister is responsible for most of her family’s expenses, as her father has died and her mother is ill. Bearing this burden has not made her bitter, however, and she has maintained optimism in the face of her family’s troubles. The latest misfortune: the small house they are renting is being demolished and she must find a new home within the month.

Just when she has almost given up, she discovers an abandoned barn in the countryside while enjoying a rare trolley ride, and at the same time, overhears a conversation about the owners.

What kind of strength must it take for such a proud young woman to approach the owners and ask to rent the barn for the summer?

But when she meets the owner, Sidney Graham, her fortune takes a sudden turn for the better. Not only is she able to rent the barn, but the owner insists on making it more habitable.

Over the course of the next few months, many unexpected blessings come to Shirley Hollister. Where will the journey to the “enchanted barn” take her and her little family? What unique adventures lie just around the corner for her? And what danger will she face that will bring her even greater blessings?

The Enchanted Barn is a book I read many years ago. The author’s other books also seemingly fell off the shelves into my eager hands back then. Recently, I decided to take the journey again, rediscovering the stories and finding out if my thoughts about them were different, after all these years.

What I discovered is that the basic story still enchanted me, even though other aspects of the writer’s style would no longer appeal to me these days. The characters seemed overly stilted in their dialogue, which could have more to do with the times in which the tales are set than anything else. I also had some difficulty wrapping my mind around the moralistic tone that seemed a bit heavy-handed at times. Despite these issues, I did enjoy wandering down memory lane and exploring this old treasure that reminds me of a fairytale with a moralistic twist.

I did have some issues with the e-book, too, as several “typos” and missing portions of words and even sentences sometimes made it difficult to follow the story. However, the basic tale seemed similar to the original I read many years ago. For old-time’s sake, I’m awarding four stars for this one.