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During the late 1800s, young Patricia Hanover has a recurring dream. She encounters a field of flowers she cannot pick. There are too many, and in the end, they become stars. In her efforts to preserve the beauty of her dreams, Patricia encounters life-altering events. Her father dies in a tragic accident, leaving her and her mother alone. Her mother then remarries, and the family travels to Windswept, a prairie town. It is in Windswept that Pattie and her young siblings Shirley and Doyle encounter Fred Hammond—a widowed man and his young children. In this story, Pattie, adept at teaching children, finds her destiny while Windswept itself grows from a nascent prairie town to a thriving community.
Built upon the metaphor of Pattie’s dreams and founded upon Christian ideas, the book explores the theme that angels are at work to implement God’s master plan. Specifically, Klusmeyer introduces Angels 695 and 734, who help Pattie attend to and reach her dreams. And, for Fred Hammond, Klusmeyer integrates Angel 262, inviting and facilitating deep reflections, allowing him to become instrumental in both town and family growth. Despite the striking figurative language, there are times when the book meanders from the plot line, and the tone feels didactic. However, the parallel initiations of the prairie town and the girl create a hopeful story. As a character, Pat represents the epitome of strength and resilience—serving as a true reminder that despite hardscrabble prairie life, death to war, and overall tragedy, people can and do survive.