June 27, 2016
Two years after her brother Andy’s death from an accident after running away from home, Rebekah Hardin still feels responsible for not being able to help him and heal her large family. To ease the financial burden on her parents—and the burden in her heart—Rebekah sets off to find a job at Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave, where she wins over Tolly Sandford, the head guide, and becomes the newest cave tour guide. The aspiring cartographer Devlin Bale also comes to Mammoth Cave with plans to spend his summer mapping the massive cave and surveying the surrounding land for a new National Park—which could give his father a boost in the upcoming Senate race. Despite their differences in class, Sawyer’s (When Love Returns) characters have a genuine admiration for one another in this heartwarming tale. Rebekah doesn’t just notice Devlin’s “soft-looking curls the color of spun honey,” but also his ability to re-create “the flow of the tunnels and caverns and domes of Mammoth Cave.” But when true intentions are revealed and tragedy threatens to strike, Rebekah’s growing friendship with Devlin is put into question. Even then, her first concern is for others around her: Tolly’s safety in the cave, her family’s well-being, and Devlin’s spiritual welfare. Sawyer integrates real-life facts about Mammoth Cave to make this an informative and enjoyable read.