Title: Gold: As October Sunsets, a Stray Dog, and God’s Good Plans
Author: Linda Jane Niedfeldt
Publisher: 2020 Literary Group, LLC
ISBN: 978-1-962868-16-7
Pages: 214
Genre: Historical Fiction / YA Fiction
Reviewed by: Jason Lulos

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Gold: As October Sunsets, a Stray Dog, and God’s Good Plans, is a wholesome and spiritually inspiring story of a German/Russian immigrant family living in a small farming town in Wisconsin during the Great Depression. While the story depicts the harsh realities of living during this era, it is told with sweeping nostalgia for a simpler time and reverence for hardworking people who do their best to live moral and generous lives. Although geared towards the middle grade and the juvenile fiction crowd, adults looking for a heartwarming tale with Christian themes will find a lot to like with this novel.

Our main protagonist/heroine is Lisenka (Lis), a young girl living with her family in 1930s Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Her stepmother, Taty, and father are ideal role models. Lis is a paragon of a big sister to little Alya and Yurgi. If there is a villain in the novel, it is poverty. The family is hardworking, but it is a struggle to put food on the table. Despite their own struggles, the family consistently tries to help others, backed by their hardworking philosophy and deeply religious faith in God’s plan. Author Linda Jane Niedfeldt paints an idyllic landscape and community. In keeping with the wholesome qualities of the story, it is comparable to the rural yet intimate atmosphere one might read about in the Little House on the Prairie series.

When Lis and little Yurgi prevent some strangers from trying to steal their chicken, they track the would-be thieves to the local “hobo jungle,” a kind of local, rural ghetto where homeless and the downtrodden congregate while traveling or just in search of food. With guidance from her virtuous parents, Lis enlists numerous members of the community to help these three homeless people. Lis proves to be a humble but effective delegator and the community is happy to help. What follows is Lis’ attempts to put the Golden Rule into practice both as a faithful member to her family and to these three strangers who would eventually become her friends.

When a stray dog shows up, Yurgi names her “Goldie.” When Yurgi’s father agrees to at least temporarily adopt the stray, Goldie lives up to her name and serves as a catalyst for literally bringing everyone together and symbolically alluding to the Golden Rule which is the main theme of this story.

This is a simple but well written story that is a kind of love letter to Christian values, family, and a romanticization for an old-fashioned, simpler way of life. The charming photographs in the novel (by Carla Jane Photography) capture this nostalgia for the past in an endearing way. Although this is the fourth book in the series, readers will have no trouble diving right into the story. Linda Jane Niedfeldt has written a beautiful story that reminds us of the importance of faith, the beauty of nature, and the joy that can be found in the most unexpected places. I definitely recommend this to readers looking for a bit of feel-good escapism. It’s an entertaining story that promotes positive themes of virtue, humility, and generosity.  This book is a gentle reminder that sometimes, all it takes is a stray dog and a leap of faith to discover God’s good plans for us.