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13 June 2013

It Happened at the Fair by Deeanne Gist

It Happened At the Fair
by Deeanne Gist

Howard Publishing

Reviewed by Teresa Mathews


5 Stars*****

In this exciting novel Deeane Gist takes us back in time to the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair where history is being made. There we get to see the sights, the sounds and the heavenly smells of the various foods being prepared and sold. Amidst this setting we are introduced to unknown inventor Mr. Cullen McNamara and the beautiful Miss Della Wentworth a teacher with the School for the Deaf.


Cullen McNamara from Charlotte, NC is the son of a farmer and even though he is highly allergic to most of the crops they raise, he is for all intents and purposes, a farmer too. Cullen has always had a special talent for repairing broken objects, and inventing various things to help out with the chores on the farm. But by far the most important thing he has invented came out of the pain of watching a building burn down and knowing his mother was inside and he could do nothing to save her. His father feels Cullen deserves a chance for the world to see his invention so he pays for everything Cullen will need to stay in Chicago for the six months of the fair. Cullen tries to back out because of his insecurity of a physical handicap and because he knows his father cannot afford the money but his Father insists he should go.


Della Wentworth is a beautiful young lady bent on helping unfortunate youngsters that have been born unable to hear. The School for the Deaf has come to the fair to be on display to show the visitors that lip reading is the way for all deaf children to be taught; no one is to be taught signing. Della has serious doubts that this is completely correct. While at the opening ceremony Della is trapped by the rushing crowd and almost crushed had it not be for a wonderfully handsome man that saw her dilemma and rescued her. Della desperately wants to believe the man is completely trustworthy but her father has drilled into her mind about the dangers of young men that are not trustworthy and how Della should not trust any man she meets in Chicago. So the first chance she gets she flees the scene as fast as she can.


Cullen’s booth is set up near some very loud printing presses so he is having difficulty explaining his invention to anyone that stops by so he takes the advice of a gentleman that stops to chat and searches out the School for the Deaf to see if anyone there would teach him to lip read. When he arrives to find the beautiful young lady he rescued he is delighted. When Della realizes who he is she is still very frightened of Cullen and thinks perhaps he is lying about needing the lip reading lessons because he has evil thoughts in mind for her. Will Della ever be able to let God relieve her of her fears? 
Is there more to this man than Della could ever dream possible?

I have read all of Deeanne’s books and this one could very well be my favorite. I love all the details that went into this, Deeanne makes you feel as though you are right there in the middle of an exciting time in the history of the US. The characters will tug at your heart and their stories will pull you in. The way the deaf were treated during this time was unfathomable; I love how Deeanne shows Della’s passion to help these kids. I could go on and on shouting the praises of this novel but I must stop, but I assure you I will be thinking about this for a very long time to come. Thank you Deeanne for this absolutely charming story.


You can find this great book at AmazonBarnes and Noble and other bookstores.

GIVEAWAY: We are giving away a copy of this or any of Deeanne's books, winners choice of format. (International winners e-book only.)


52 comments:

  1. Awesome review, TERESA! I thought about that great musical with Judy Garland, Meet Me in St Louis, when I was reading your review. All the characters end up at the St. Louis World's Fair, and it is a wonderful movie that I would recommend to everyone even though it's an older one. The vivid colors and the dresses are gorgeous! This book sounds just as wonderful and your great review conjured up many images for me, if that makes any sense! I know what I mean. :P

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    1. DIANA I knew exactly you meant!! lol Deeanne has a lot of great descriptions in this so you will have a lot of mental images. :)

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    2. That was a great movie, DIANA! I think I need to watch it again, or maybe get this book :)

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  2. You give a very detailed description of Deeanne's latest book. Thank you for that, and the chance to win it.

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    1. MARTHA there is a lot more details that I left out...didn't want to give it all away! lol
      Here's hoping for a win for you....but would you please give us your email address? Thanks!

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  3. Wonderful review TERESA!! I absolutely LOVED this book and it was one of those books that I found when I was going back through parts to do my review, I would keep on reading as it was hard to put down even for the 2ND time!! :) And like you guys said above, the images the book projected were just fabulous and I loved the pictures DEEANNE included in her book as well - a novel idea! (pardon the pun, lol)

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    1. NOELA I'm with you I could re-read this one. I loved the characters, the sights and sounds that were described. It is my favorite DEEANNE book so far!

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  4. GREAT REVIEW, Teresa, and anything you love, girl, I know I will love, so toss my name in the hat, if you will, please!!

    Hugs,
    Julie

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    1. HELLO LOVELY JULIE! This was terrific so I KNOW you will love it! I have always enjoyed DEEANNE's books and this one was my favorite of all! Good luck on a win and thanks for coming by...your beautiful presence always makes my day! You are like a ray of sunshine! :)

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  5. This sounds like a compelling storyline! I'd love to read this one!
    Thanks!
    colorvibrant[at]gmail[dot]com

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    1. HI HEIDI..so glad you came by, I know you will love DEEANNE'S book! Good luck in the drawing! :)

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  6. I've read some of Deeanne's books and would like to read this one too. Thanks for the chance to win it.
    rrwalter34ATgmailDOTcom

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    1. BECKY...DEEANNE's books are wonderful aren't they? Thanks for coming by. Good luck in the drawing!

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  7. Awesome Review, enter me please ! I would love to read this book....
    Linda Finn
    faithfulacres7@gmail.com

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  8. This sounds like such a fun book! I've never read anything by Deeanne before, but I've heard great things about her books. Thanks for the chance to win!

    lubell1106(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. ELYSSA, DEEANNE has a lot of good books out! Maybe you will win this one to get you started reading them. :)

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  9. What a great review! This looks like such a great book- can't wait to read it!

    jennycohen104(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. JENNY this is a marvelous book! I know you will love it! Here's hoping for a win for ya! :)

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  10. love interviews , hope to win this book
    jcisforme@aol.com

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    1. Hi Shirley, thanks for coming by, good luck on a win!!

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  11. I've read books by Deeanne Gist but not this book. She's a wonderful author. Great review Teresa! Thank you for entering me in your giveaway.
    Barbara Thompson
    barbmaci61(at)yahoo(dot)com

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    1. BARBARA you are right, DEEANNE is a wonderful author. Good luck in winning this!

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  12. Every time I read about this book, it sounds more and more fantastic! Thanks for the giveaway!
    jackie.smith[at]dishmail[dot]net

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    1. Hi JACKIE, this one is my favorite by DEEANNE. There are so many beautiful details in it about the Worlds Fair. Here's hoping you'll get to read it. :)

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  13. I have loved all of Ms. Gist's books and can't wait to get my hands on this one!

    missionwife@hotmail.com

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    1. Hi MELODY so hoping you will get your hands on one really soon! :)

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  14. Love DeeAnne's books love this cover thanks for the chance to win a copy

    ABreading4fun [at] gmail [dot] com

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    1. HI APPLE BLOSSOM! This is a beautiful cover, here's hoping for a win for you!

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  15. Wow, what a great review. Sounds like a book that I'd really enjoy.

    cindialtman(at)gmail.com

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    1. Thank you CINDI, this is a book I KNOW you will love. GOOD LUCK!!! :)

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  16. IT HAPPENED AT THE FAIR does sound like such a wonderful read. A favorite and such high praise!!

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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    1. MARY you are so right...everyone that's told me they read it LOVED it! Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  17. This sounds like such a wonderful book! Thanks so much for the giveaway.
    God bless,
    Betti
    bettimace(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. BETTI you are very welcome, here's hoping you get to read it soon!

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  18. This sounds like such a wonderful book! Thank you for the great review of it - making me want to get it! :)
    Susan P
    farmygirl at hotmail dot com

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    1. THANKS SUSAN!! Here's hoping you get to read it soon, maybe you'll win!! Glad you stopped by! :)

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  19. I absolutely love her books! The story and the history in them :) I have read all of her other books and would love to win this one :)
    Lisa
    deiselbuffs@gmail.com

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  20. Oh this is going to be good. Thanks Teresa for the review. I had a friend with a deaf daughter. When she didn't want to listen to her mom, she would do a cross her out sign and turn her back. This would have been hard for me to deal with. She had to make her look at her. I would like to win this book. Thanks my OWG friends. GLOd bless each of you. MAXIE mac262(at)me(dot)com

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    1. HI MAXIE! Thanks for sharing that story with us, I know that had to be hard on the Mom. So glad you stopped by, you are always a blessing to us. Here's hoping you get to read this soon. :)

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  21. Another enticing review to make my TBR pile scatter further across the floor! ♥

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    1. ANNE I know what you mean...thank goodness I can put some on my kindle so my hubby doesn't freak out with all the books I have! lol That's what I get for marrying someone who doesn't like to read! :D

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  22. I've read some wonderful reviews about this book so would be very happy to win a copy here. It's rather refreshing to have a book feature a handsome hero who is also deaf. Thanks for giving away a copy of It Happened at the Fair.

    pmk56[at]sbcglobal[dot]net

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  23. PAM thanks for coming by and good luck in the drawing. :)

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  24. I've read several of her earlier books, but nothing recently. would love to win this book!

    pattymh2000(at)yahoo(dot)com

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    1. PATTY this one is so good you won't want to miss it. Thanks for stopping by. :)

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  25. I'm so excited to read this one! shopgirl152nykiki(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  26. Sounds like a great book, that I would love to have and read! You did a great job of telling us about it--plenty of details but still leaving room for our minds to create thoughts of how it will all turn out. Thanks
    Vicki
    vmarney(at)Hotmail(dot)com

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  27. Thanks for the post and the giveaway! Can't wait to read this one!!! I've loved all of her books so far, and you've got me all excited for this one!

    Emreilly303(At)gmail(dot)com

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  28. Awesome post! I've never read any of her books, but I am now looking forward to it. Thanks for the chance to win!

    Jreilly316(At)Verizon(dot)net

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  29. Great review! I'm so looking forward to this book!

    ecriggs1990(at)aol(dot)com

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