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Between Worlds 3: The First Step

by Lori Wolf-Heffner

Family expectations across generations

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AlbakiReads Editorial

Family expectations across generations

In this third Between Worlds novel, Juliana and Elisabeth face different pressures shaped by family duty and inherited expectations. Fourteen-year-old Juliana is balancing school and caring for her grandfather, who has Alzheimer’s, while feeling overlooked by her busy parents. A great-grandmother’s sketchbook offers her a source of solace. Elisabeth, meanwhile, is challenged by her great-grandmother’s views on punishment and a proposed marriage prospect, and must weigh her own understanding against her family’s religious expectations. The two storylines connect questions of personal choice, caregiving, and belonging across generations. Dance, art, family relationships, and the contrast between historical and contemporary experience are part of the book’s stated scope.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Teen and young adult readers interested in family responsibilities and intergenerational relationships.
  • Readers interested in stories that combine historical and contemporary strands.
  • Readers drawn to dance, art, and questions of family and personal choice.

Themes

Caregiving and family responsibilityIntergenerational expectationsPersonal choice and religious beliefArt as solaceHistorical and contemporary experience

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Growing up is hard enough. Why does family have to make it harder? Fourteen-year-old Juliana didn't expect to be the one looking after her grandfather, who lives with Alzheimer's. But with her parents always at work, she feels they barely have time for her, let alone Opa. Add studying for exams at her new school, and Juliana doesn't know how she can focus on her grades while also caring for Opa on her own. Conflicted, she turns to the one thing that has helped her find solace since her move: her great-grandmother's sketchbook.

Crotchety Omama has invited herself to stay with Elisabeth's family. But when Omama insists Elisabeth punish her brother by hitting him and conspires with Mammi to introduce her to her first marriage prospect, Elisabeth must decide for herself what discipline and marriage look like according to God's will. Even if that differs from her family's expectations.

With family responsibilities bearing down on Juliana and Elisabeth, the girls must learn to balance their needs with what their families and society expect of them.

The First Step is the third book in Lori Wolf-Heffner's contemporary/historical series, Between Worlds. If you love history, the arts, and family ties, pick up a copy of The First Step and enjoy a story that spans generations.

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