Sophie's Heart

I found the novel Sophie's Heart by Lori Wick to be a credible modern fiction book. It is written about a young Chzec who moves to America to make a living, painfully departing from her grandmother, who has been her only parent for many years. She arrives unsure of herself, but determined to make the best of the situation. She begins work at a restaurant, and although her English has some flaws, she is a hard-worker. When at church, she meets a woman who hooks her up to become a housekeeper for a family. The family is that of the woman's brother, who recently lost their mother in a car accident, devastating the father. He depends on his teenage daughter to most of the household chores, because he works for long hours. The death in the family left a workaholic father, a too much depended on 16-year-old daughter, an angry mid-teen son, and a young girl striving for attention. When Sophie becomes their housekeeper, she recognizes these problems, as well as the fact that the family does not have good meals or clean rooms. She takes it upon herself to first clean the house, and then begins on the people themselves. She makes an immediate impact on Tori, the attention-starved youngest, who latches on to her. They become quick friends, and Rita, the oldest, although a bit slower to warm to Sophie, soon finds herself liking the woman as well. The son Craig is a challenge, however. His mother's death and his father's absence has left him feeling bitter. He seems grumpy all the time, but Sophie is patient, and she gently helps him through life by doing even little things, like taking him with her to talk to his classmates in an effort to keep him more social. But despite his gratitude, Sophie still notices something is wrong. Craig finally reveals his secret to her on a car ride home: he feels it was his fault his mother died because he prayed she would die that day after she made him wear pants he hated to school. After this conversation with Sophie, she advises him on how to handle it and assures him it was not his fault. Craig is now a normal, loving person again. The last person to deal with in the family is...the father. Sophie helps him overcome his addiction to work, and they soon become friends...and perhaps something more, but you'll have to read to find out. I enjoyed this book, although I do find some of Lori Wick's books to be predictable and sometimes unrealistic. It was a good read.