A Miracle for St. Cecilia’s by Katherine Valentine
Author: Katherine Valentine
Title: A Miracle for St. Cecilia’s
Genre: Inspirational Fiction, Gentle Reads
Publication Date: 2002
Number of Pages: 278
Geographical Setting: Dorsetville, Connecticut; New England
Time Period: Contemporary
Series: Dorsetville Series
Plot Summary: Katherine Valentine has been critiqued by some for imitating Jan Karon’s popular Mitford series, however, A Miracle for St. Cecilia’s will warm the hearts of many who love a wholesome and gentle read with a Catholic spin. The novel tells the story of the residents of the town of Dorsetville, Connecticut in the New England area from the perspective of Father James Flaherty who is in a dire predicament. The Archdiocese wants to shut down the town’s beloved church because of declining membership and its inability to sustain itself. Yet, the story envelopes into the characters’ lives well so that we, as the reader, don’t want the church to close either. The residents and the priest try to come up with ideas to save the church and through an accidental miracle, faith is restored and lives are changed. This is the first in the Dorsetville series by Valentine who also tells us her story of renewed life in the acknowledgements that certainly provide some additional wealth to the story.
Subject Headings: Catholic Church, Clergy, Small town life, Eccentrics, Faith, Compassion, Miracles; Dorsetville, Connecticut New England (U.S.); St. Cecilia’s Church, Church, Mill town, Small town; 2000s, 21st century; Fiction, Christian, Inspirational; Eccentric; Priest
Appeal: Christian, Catholicism, inspirational, saintly, gentle, heartwarming, soft, kind, compassionate, religious, overcoming obstacles, uplifting, touching, faithful, miraculous, light humor, small-town life, close-knit community relationships, sugar sweet, tender
3 terms that best describe this book: inspirational, heartwarming, touching
3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors:
- Catechism of the Catholic Church is a book used in many classrooms and teachings to help those interested in becoming Catholic or just want to learn more about the religion. It is put out by the US Catholic Church and includes an index so you can look up certain topics. Readers on Amazon.com have responded that this is an easily readable and understandable book.
- Thrift Store Saints: Meeting Jesus 25 Cents at a Time by Jane Knuth tells the true story of Jane who takes up volunteer work at a St. Vincent DePaul thrift store in Kalamazoo, MI. Through her experiences, she talks about the fulfilling and touching stories that filled her days by helping shoppers of the store.
- The Year of Living Like Jesus: My Journey of Discovering What Jesus Would Really Do by Ed Dobson tells us the story of how Dobson took one year to literally interpret the Bible and its teachings. Through his journey, he discovers compassion, humility and faith in a likeable and enjoyable format of diary entries and prose.
3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors:
- Jan Karon’s Mitford Series is another heartwarming series of novels who readers will enjoy for a soft and gentle series of characters and stories. The first in the series is At Home in Mitford which tells the story of the main character, Father Tim, at home in the small North Carolina town of Mitford, and what is described as ordinary people with ordinary lives. Christian and inspirational fiction lovers will find this series comforting.
- In another series called Song of Erin, for readers who are looking for additional inspirational fiction surrounding Catholicism, yet would enjoy a more historical tale, B. J. Hoff writes about the saga of an Irish-American family and their escape from poverty and tragedy in Ireland to a new life in 1800’s New York City. Cloth of Heaven is the first in the series.
- The book, In the Land of Second Chances by George Shaffner is described by BookList as a cross between Touched by an Angel and The Five People You Meet in Heaven and is the first in a series of books surrounding one of the main characters, Wilma Porter. The novel is about the residents of small town Ebb, Nebraska and with the help of a stranger, discover hope, faith and strength in overcoming obstacles.
Find A Miracle for St. Cecilia’s by Katherine Valentine in your local library through WorldCat
Tags: gentle, faithful, inspirational, religious, heartwarming, small-town life, touching, compassionate, tender, Catholicism, Christian, Uplifting, saintly, soft, kind, overcoming obstacles, miraculous, light humor, close-knit community relationships, sugar sweet, wholesome
The Librarian of Spark and Spirit 