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This is a book so unlike any other book I've read. I've read the diary type books before, but this doesn't even compare easily to those. I was hooked instantly, though, because of all the mentions of Jane Austen and the old never-gets-old authors like Dickens and many others.
Sam is 23 and an orphan. She loves English and really wanted to write fiction. However, a benefactor has decided he would pay for her to go to graduate school to get a master's in Journalism. Sam wasn't on board with that idea at first, but gradually is convinced that she'd give it a try. However, after being put on a wait list she begins to think she wasn't intended to go to Northwestern University. Her benefactor tells her to be patient and that just being on the wait list is a privilege.
In order for Sam to receive this money, she has to agree to one thing: writing letters frequently to the donor whom remains a mystery. She is alone, but uses these letters to Mr. Knightley as a form of a diary. Sam begins to realize a lot about herself through these letters and confesses many things about herself.
Sam's honesty with a complete stranger is amazing. I kept thinking about how transparent I want my life to be. Even though these words were written to someone, the comfort she had at knowing someone knew the true her (thoughts and all) had to be a comfort.
This book does not seem like a debut novel. It is written so beautifully and is well done. I loved reading about how this story came about and how she was introduced to some wonderful authors while being injured. I can just see me receiving books instead of cards when I'm sick, much to my husband's dismay! Can't wait to see what else comes from this new author!
For more opinions on this book, go to http://litfusegroup.com/author/kreay.
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Book Info
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About the book: Samantha Moore has always hidden behind the words of others-namely her favorite characters in literature. Now, she will learn to write her own story-by giving that story to a complete stranger.
Growing up orphaned and alone, Sam found her best friends in the works of Austen, Dickens, and the Brontë sisters. The problem is that she now relates to others more comfortably as Elizabeth Bennet and Jane Eyre than as herself.
Sometimes we lose ourselves in the things we care about most. But life for this twenty-three-year-old is about to get stranger than fiction, when an anonymous benefactor (calling himself "Mr. Knightley") offers to put Sam through the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. There is only one catch: Sam must write frequent letters to the mysterious donor, detailing her progress. As Sam's program and peers force her to confront her past, she finds safety in her increasingly personal letters to Mr. Knightley. And when Sam meets eligible, best-selling novelist Alex Powell, those letters unfold a story of love and literature that feels as if it's pulled from her favorite books. But when secrets come to light, Sam is --- once again --- made painfully aware of how easily trust can be broken. Reay's debut novel follows one young woman's journey as she sheds her protective persona and embraces the person she was meant to become. Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/qDEkp  Meet the author: Katherine Reay has enjoyed a life-long affair with the works of Jane Austen and her contemporaries. After earning degrees in history and marketing from Northwestern University, she worked as a marketer for Proctor & Gamble and Sears before returning to school to earn her MTS. Her works have been published in "Focus on the Family" and the "Upper Room." Katherine currently lives with her husband and three children in Seattle. "Dear Mr. Knightley" is her first novel.Learn more about Katherine at: http://katherinereay.com/
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I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity Group and Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.
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