Happy Friday, fellow readers! It’s the start of a holiday weekend, and a great time to find some new books through Hoarding Books’ First Line Friday linkup 🙂 Today I’m featuring a new release that just came out this week – Something Worth Doing by Jane Kirkpatrick.

June 1852

“Her dreams of late had been of books with maps of unknown places.”

Something Worth Doing by Jane Kirkpatrick

The Basics

Title: Something Worth Doing: A Novel of an Early Suffragist

Author: Jane Kirkpatrick

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction (based on a true story)

My Rating: 3.5 / 5 Stars

From the Back Cover:

Some things are worth doing–even when the cost is great

In 1853, Abigail Scott was a nineteen-year-old school teacher in Oregon Territory when she married Ben Duniway. Marriage meant giving up on teaching, but Abigail always believed she was meant to be more than a good wife and mother. When Abigail becomes the primary breadwinner for her growing family, what she sees as a working woman appalls her–and prompts her to devote her life to fighting for the rights of women, including the right to vote.

Based on a true story, Something Worth Doing will resonate with modern women who still grapple with the pull between career and family, finding their place in the public sphere, and dealing with frustrations and prejudices when competing in male-dominated spaces.

My Thoughts

“But of course, living held risk, the very act of breathing meant another step into the unknown. How one took those steps would shape the character of those around you….”

This was the first of Jane Kirkpatrick’s books I’ve read so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I ended up really enjoying this story! Something Worth Doing follows the life of Abigail Duniway, a entrepreneur and suffragist in 19th-century Oregon. I thought the book presented a well-rounded picture of her life and the obstacles she faced. She worked so hard for so many years, facing disappointments and tragedies in her personal life and her work, but she never gave up. The tension she faced between her dedication to her family and her work is something women today can relate to. The balance is hard to find, and we see in her story that she didn’t always make the right choices, but women in the United States wouldn’t be where we are today without her and the cause she advanced.

Parts of the book did feel more like an account of events than an engaging story, but overall it was an enjoyable read. It’s very timely as well, as 2020 marks 100 years since the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution granted women the right to vote. Fans of historical fiction and students of history will enjoy this book!

Now it’s your turn! Please share the first line of the book you’re reading in the comments below. Don’t forget to head to Hoarding Books to see what first lines other bloggers are sharing, or to share your own!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Revell!