Dobyns Chronicles by Shirley McLain
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Dobyns Chronicles is a piece of family historical fiction. The story really begins in the late 1800’s and shows us life in Texas and Oklahoma for farming folks. Charley’s parents were Kennerley and Eliza Dobyns. They had 3 children Charley, David and Viola. At aged 16, Charley’s parents both died of yellow fever and Charley was forced to take over leadership of his family group.
He first took them to stay on a ranch with Mr & Mrs Homes where they were made very welcome, but when Mr Holmes died the ranch was sold. The new owners made life for Charley and his family unbearable. Charley’s devotion to his family lead him to find a job with Zach Selby and a new home for his brother and sister.
This is a good insight into the life and hardships of the era, the end was a little rushed compared to the earlier parts of the book. I did feel that some of the dialogue was too stiff, I would have enjoyed some colloquialisms in the language to make conversations more authentic. The book would benefit from another edit and perhaps a little slimming to improve the flow of the storyline.
Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
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Rosie Amber 