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Bertie's Place
Edie Goodwin, author
Bertie's Place, published by Westbow Press, is the heartfelt story of a young teacher, Molly Parsons, as she attempts to navigate her first year out of college. Along the way, she finds herself wading through love, loss, heartache, and betrayal. Twenty-two-year-old Molly Parsons has just graduated from college when she lands a job teaching fifth grade in Winslow, a small farming community in northeastern Ohio. Just as she and her friend Eva are preparing to move into their new apartment, Eva backs out, leaving Molly without a place to live— until she finds Bertie’s Place, a boardinghouse operating out of a beautiful Victorian home. Bertie's Place proves to be a safe space for Molly to grow as a young woman and explore love, fellowship, and spirituality, all while taking on the challenge of becoming an effective teacher for the students in her new community. In Bertie's Place, providing quality education becomes the glue that binds Molly to Winslow. With toughness, resilience, and a heart full of love, Molly settles into her teaching role while juggling dating, friendship, and family issues. Hospitality, fellowship, faith, and school life connect powerfully in Bertie's Place as Molly learns to call Winslow home. PRAISE FOR BERTIE’S PLACE “[...] [A] treasure of hard work, memories, and wisdom. Every student who wishes to become a teacher of any subject should read this story. It shows the mistakes most new teachers make and how to avoid them. [...] Those who work for the love of teaching will profit in so many ways by reading the truth inside the covers...” —David Martin, Fine Lines Quarterly Literary Journal
Reviews
Goodwin’s fiction debut is a charming slice-of-life romantic drama that centers on Molly Parsons, an idealistic but naïve and insecure young woman embarking on her first teaching job, in small-town Ohio, where she’s shocked to discover that her students struggle with literacy. While living at Bertie’s Place, a boarding house run by the kindhearted widow Bertie Evans, Molly becomes attracted to commitment shy Joe Stuart. Heartbreak looms with the return of Molly’s former friend, the alluring but malicious Eva Blake, who sets her sights on Joe. As Goodwin charts Molly’s progress, Bertie's Place explores love, faith, families, betrayal, obsession, and more, with an emphasis on local community and hope and forgiveness in the face of tragedy.

The vivid descriptions of Winslow’s small-town life, particularly its annual fair, give the story a warm, inviting atmosphere, as does Molly’s devotion to her students, whether she’s helping them with their literacy struggles or becoming involved in their troubled families. Likewise, Molly’s friendships with Bertie and the other Winslow residents prove uplifting. Relatably, Molly yearns for a happy marriage like her loving parents had, and her occasional conversations with God show her inner turmoil as she seeks guidance.

Tension comes from Joe’s possessiveness of Molly and Eva, including his jealousy when Molly pays attention to other men, while Molly must also face her own jealousy, especially as Eva is up to what Molly thinks of as “her own tricks." The story loses some momentum as it emphasizes school procedures, lesson planning, board of education meetings, and the canning of food. Goodwin demonstrates, though, the nourishing aspects of such community-minded work. It’s through such labor that Molly, who wishes early on for “the wisdom to help her students,” begins to flower, making a surprise connection with a man in her bible study group, and discovers how to help herself, too. The sweet ending will satisfy lovers of cozy, slice-of-life romances with Christian themes.

Takeaway: Small-town romantic slice-of-life of love, faith, and education.

Comparable Titles: Katie Powner, T.I. Lowe.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

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