My Review

Reading a story about Australian pioneering was fascinating to this American girl. I enjoyed the rich Irish-Australian heritage pictured in these pages.

 

The Christian element is strong and woven steadily throughout the pages. Jayne and her sisters rely heavily on God for direction and guidance. I was a little sad that most of the adults in Jayne’s life were busybodies and gossips and discouraging rather than encouraging. Toward the end, she did seem to have more solid people to turn to.

This book has no romance in it, which I’ll admit, was refreshing after I’ve read a few books with “too-much-for-me” romance.

There is a swirl of mystery and thorough imagery of the difficulty of Australian pioneering in this story. I think it is suitable for any teen. There is a bit about dying plus a little mention of injury and blood toward the end that some sensitive readers may want to be aware of.

*I received this book from the author and happily provided my honest review*

 

 

Jayne’s Endeavour, Book 1 of The JOY Series!

About the Book

Genre: Historical Christian Fiction
Page Count: 276
Age Range: 12-18
Series: Book 1 of The JOY Series

Mysterious strangers, a Scripture verse, and a threat.

“Reids never give up.” The words once held so much truth. But at eighteen, Jayne Reid is beginning to wonder if she can live up to that standard.

When puzzling strangers appear and odd things start to happen, Jayne and her two younger sisters must find a solution—or lose everything.

What mystery lurks in the shadows of the Australian bush? Who is the man in town who thinks he can buy and bully anyone he wishes? And is it all somehow connected to their new farmhand?

Journey with Jayne as she struggles to change fear into boldness and boldness into a trusting relationship with her Heavenly Father. What adventure lies ahead?

The JOY Series

The JOY Series follows three sisters on a quest to keep their parents’ legacy and dreams alive. Loaded with 19th century Australian adventure, it’s a series full of intrigue, adventure, and faith for ages 12 and up!

 

Behind the Scenes–Characters and Places!

I thought I’d take the opportunity to share some fun things relating to the writing of Jayne’s Endeavour! So here goes!

• I named one of the characters after my mum (Mrs Catherine Eddington). Catherine is Mum’s middle name. I actually haven’t mentioned that to her yet as it was a more recent decision!
• One of the main-ish characters in the book, I referred to using quotation marks while I was originally writing (as in “” looked over at Jayne and grinned.) I just couldn’t settle on a name that suited him! 😉 For those of you who have already read JE, it was Aiden!
• Growing up, I never even liked the town of Buninyong (which was not too far from where I used to live!). And now, I’ve gone and set my book in that exact location! 😀 Just goes to show how things change! It’s certainly a town rich in history.

The day was nearly over, but her work was not. Jayne dragged her feet as she walked over to the water buckets, thinking about Jed and Cass. By now both men were probably getting ready to ride to a meeting in Buninyong. She could picture them splashing water on their faces and hair despite the cold, as Daddy had when he went to town.

–Chapter 5, Jayne’s Endeavour

• I tried really hard not to make Jayne like myself, but my mum told me that I didn’t entirely succeed! So little parts of her are little parts of me! I’ll leave you wondering which things though . . . 😉
• Buninyong comes from an Aboriginal word “Buninyouang, “which is said to mean “man lying on his back with his knees raised.” The town takes its name from the nearby Mt Buninyong.

• Some of the characters in my book, including Dr. Sparling, Mr Hedrick (the storekeeper), William Caffery (the blacksmith), and Rev. Thomas Hastie, really did live in Buninyong during the time period of my novel. So it was fun getting to include them! I wonder what they’d think if they knew they’d made their way into a novel?!
• I accidentally named the cow and one of the horses the same name–Betsie! So the cow became “Checkers” and the horse got to keep her name!
• Some of the speech patterns of Jed, I patterned after my grandfather (who passed away a few years ago). So I love reading those parts of his dialogue and being reminded of my Pa! 🙂

Jed chuckled. “Let’s get them back to their mother before you lot decide to keep them.” He retrieved his lantern from the table, then turned back to Jayne. “You can stay put if you want.”

–Chapter 9, Jayne’s Endeavour

• The storekeeper I originally mentioned as being the owner of the Buninyong general store was dead by 1872 (the year Jayne’s Endeavour takes place). Whoops! 😉 So needless to say, I had to do a bit more research to work out who the storekeeper actually was!
• The shops, hotel, Dr Sparling’s house, church, and the police station all really existed. In fact some of them are still there today! So I patterned their descriptions off of real buildings.

I hope you enjoyed discovering some behind-the-scenes facts about Jayne’s Endeavour! Let me know which one you found most interesting in the comments!

About the Author

Lauren Compton lives in Australia on a sheep farm—surrounded by mountains and plenty of Aussie wildlife! From a young age she has loved books and writing-related things (yep, that includes spending ages in the writing supplies department!). Now she has embarked on a mission to write books that both entertain AND encourage. Her desire is to weave stories that point readers to her Heavenly Father while at the same time being a whole lot of fun!

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