This story is at times tough to read. I did not like how the church where this family belonged to treated women.  They were made to be a housewife and a mother and they couldn't ever think of being something else or they would be shunned and treated poorly. I constantly had to remind myself while reading that this was modern times and not like the 1800s. 

Hope unfortunately had to become the "mom" of her siblings after their mom died. When a woman comes seeking their church and then becomes her stepmother, she begins to see what a life outside this church would be and she is conflicted but curious. She battles with herself all the time and after her stepmother realizes that she doesn't want to belong to this place...Hope's world changes drastically and, I felt, never for the better. 

The first 100 pages were slow going for me and then I just flew through the rest!