Waiting With Elmer by Deanna Klingel

Review:

I’ve read several stories by this author and have always enjoyed them, so when I came across this book, I was excited to check it out. I had no idea what the story was about when I began reading and, honestly, continued to be unsure even when I’d gotten fairly far into the book. There was almost a mystical element that I couldn’t quite figure out but kept me turning the pages.

Waiting with Elmer is the story of a boy named Willy. We first meet Willy as a young boy who has endured a traumatic childhood and has been abandoned by his father in the town of Waitnsee. This engaging tale is set during the Great Depression and follows Willy’s path as he navigates his childhood and teen years with the help of an unusual second family and the mysterious Elmer.

This book shows the simplicity of the time yet also highlights the racial and economic difficulties people facing during those years. I really like the added element of Boys Town, a place in Nebraska I’ve often heard about. The book would be a great supplement to a study on this time period.

Willy is a very likable character, and the reader roots for him as he discovers his faith, and the path God is calling him to follow. If you’re looking for an enjoyable historical fiction for teens with a good message, this might be one to check out.

Summary:

Abandoned by his father in the unusual town of Waitnsee, Willy is burdened with a terrible secret. Lost in life with no family that he can trust, the homeless men of the Union Mission become the family he needs. These homeless and hungry men, particularly the aged and legless Elmer, help Willy to put aside the pain of his secret and find a new way of looking at the world around him. The light of the cross on the Mission’s roof, and the wail of trains that passed nearby on a regular basis, become anchors for Willy as he endures prejudice and poverty–and learns the power of forgiveness–while discovering his true calling in life. Set in Middle America during the Great Depression, during that period when the country was recovering from World War I while preparing for World War II, Deanna K. Klingel brings to life that awkward era of American History honestly and unapologetically. He heard the wail of the distant train whistle and started off in that direction, hoping it would be the right way back to the south side of town… He paused at the orange ramp in front of the Mission and looked down to read the hand-painted words on the sidewalk: “Behold, how good it is, and how pleasant, where brethren dwell as one! Psalm 133.”