The Practice House

By: Laura McNeal

Narrated by: Angela Dawe

Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Nineteen-year-old Aldine McKenna is stuck at home with her sister and aunt in a Scottish village in 1929 when two Mormon missionaries ring the doorbell. Aldine's sister converts and moves to America to marry, and Aldine follows, hoping to find the life she's meant to lead and the person she's meant to love.

In New York, Aldine answers an ad soliciting a teacher for a one-room schoolhouse in a place she can't possibly imagine: drought-stricken Kansas. She arrives as farms on the Great Plains have begun to fail and schools are going bankrupt, unable to pay or house new teachers. With no money and too much pride to turn back, she lives uneasily with the family of Ansel Price - the charming, optimistic man who placed the ad - and his family responds to her with kind curiosity, suspicion, and, most dangerously, love. Just as she's settling into her strange new life, a storm forces unspoken thoughts to the surface that will forever alter the course of their lives.

Laura McNeal's novel is a sweeping and timeless love story about leaving - and finding - home.

©2017 Laura McNeal (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Simplicity

Thoroughly enjoying A complex story told brilliantly I couldn't put it down. Listened in two sittings

Historical Romance

Didn’t think I would like this, but I loved it. Realistically told story, with intertwining characters. A great understanding of the “dust bowl” in Kansas and it’s affect on families and farming. Would read another story by Laura McNeal and “loved the Scottish” lilt by Angela Dawe.

Unexpected Love Story

A riveting, unexpected love story. Although it starts out a little slow and is actually a bit tedious in the beginning, the story evolves and begins to take on beautiful life of its own. Truthfully, I have started and stopped this book three times since 2017 and finally persevered past the first 50 pages. The initial beginning of the book in Scotland and New York is a bit uninteresting and feels like it's going nowhere, but if you keep reading, it begins to develop into a meaningful and quite remarkable story. At the point where Aldine leave NYC and arrives in Kansas to accept a non-existent teaching position, I couldn't put it down. And I really loved it when the Price family moves to Fallbrook, CA (my hometown) to start a new life. I so appreciate the many wonderful and well researched historical references. Superbly narrated by Angela Dawe, listening to the Audible version really helped a lot! I both read and listened to the book, depending on if I was in the car (listening) or at home (reading). I feel like the story embodies Disney's "perfect equation” of both happiness and sadness -- for every smile there is a tear. Beautiful character and story development. Both a heart wrenching and a heart warming story. Laura McNeal is a fine writer and I look forward to her next novel.

loved it!

I loved this book. it was a bit slow to start but once I got into it I couldn't wait to read more. the narrator was very credible and I loved her Scottish accent.

Sad, yet satisfying

The narrator is excellent! She moved from accent to accent, male to female, and young to old with precision and perfect emotions.
The story is well written; a tragedy for the most part. I really wanted there to be a way for Ansil to be two people, and have two happy lives. Without spoiling the story, the ending was satisfying and served well not to hurt Ellie. I do hope that Clare was able to be with Aldeen in the end. Maybe there is another story pending.....?
I recommend this book if you like tragic love stories with an historical background. I looked up The Harvey Houses because I didn't know what they were. I am extremely grateful that my family didn't have to suffer in the depression in the dust bowl that was the Midwest during the 1930's. The author really captures the "hell on earth" it must have been like, and the determination of those living there to try to make it, and failing to do so.

Wow!

I have listened to HUNDREDS of audiobooks, and Angela Dawe is now one of my favorite fiction readers ever.

The book is very well written, interesting bits of history well woven into an absorbing story. I had a little trouble being convinced of the motivation for some of the characters' actions, which is the reason for 4 stars. The reading takes it up to 5 stars.

On & on

The Practice House could have used a better edit. The story went on and on.

Superb!

A wonderful book in every way -- story, characters and fantastic narration. I can see it as a TV miniseries... I hope it makes it to that form. But apart from that, this is a book to enjoy -- the kind of story and voice that will stay with me.

Great Story

This was great book. Being from Kansas, I knew the places they were and that made in more interesting.

good 1/3 way through

Ok started. really slow got better glad i stuck with it..it was interestinh and got much bettet..