Where Lilacs Still Bloom

by Brittney Rutherford

June 22, 2012

Where Lilacs Still Bloom by Jane Kirkpatrick is a touching story of an "average" woman with no education, yet who has a passion to do something more with her life. Hulda Klager finds her passion is gardening.

It all started with an apple, when her father encouraged her to continue her desire to create a crisper apple that was easier to peel. Her success encouraged her to move on to flowers. Endless hours of cultivating, pollinating and hybridization to create new colors, better smells and more petals on her blooms was what she enjoyed. However, you can sense Hulda's fear that her passion was taking her away from her family, and that maybe the religious leaders had a point. Should she be messing with God's creations? Was she destroying them, or enhancing the beauty around her with her own God-given talents? Should she yield to her common housewife status, or should she continue with where her heart yearned to be?

Based on a true story and the life of the real Hulda Klager, I found this book very interesting. Although the book was not a must-read-in-one-sitting type page turner, I really do prefer historically accurate books that share enduring qualities of real people we would otherwise never meet.

I really appreciated the Cast of Characters in the beginning, which helped keep people straight in the beginning, and especially the Author's Note which wrapped up the life of Hulda Klager with additional information.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book as part of the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.