All in One Place

Carolyne Aarsen
FaithWords (2007)
ISBN 9780446696821
Reviewed by AJ Cooper for Reader Views (7/07)


“All in One Place” follows Terra running from her troubles in Seattle to what she hopes will be the open arms of her sister Leslie in Montana. Terra does not want to be discovered in her travels so she is counting on making her money last until she can make it to Chicago.  She hitchhikes her way across the states relying on the goodwill of passing drivers.

Terra blows into town with a bang and ends up in a bar fight and booked into jail. She does not have enough money to bail herself out so she has to call her sister for the rest of the money. This is not what Leslie has expected or welcomes. Leslie’s husband and family are devout to their religion and expect all others to follow the rules. Terra is very uncomfortable with this but works hard to get along with everyone especially her sister’s mother-in-law. All goes well for a couple of days until Terra over hears a conversation between Leslie and her husband Dan. Dan fears that the losses of the money for bail will have an effect on the farm and worries for the return of the money. Terra wakes up the next morning and leaves for town in the hopes of a job and a place to stay.

Terra gains employment as a waitress and is able to rent a room from the other waitress in the diner. Terra does not tell anyone why she is running. She does not want to burden her sister with her problems. Eric is Terra’s estranged boyfriend and Terra will do anything not to have her location known.

Terra does not want to get involved with anyone in the town, yet she is drawn to Jack, who is the local sheriff. She tries to avoid him but he comes to the diner to visit his father and a priest who meet every day for coffee/tea and pie. Terra becomes more and more involved with her sister’s family and even makes an attempt to go to church.

This was a heart-wrenching story that kept me reading until I arrived at the end. I was fighting for Terra all of the way to stay in Montana with the people that loved her instead of hitchhiking herself away to the unknown. It was nice that the whole community came together for Terra and that her sister’s family accepted her as one of their own. “All in One Place” shows that sometimes when things are really bad, family and friends are there in the end. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in a little bit of intrigue and misery with a happy ending.

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