*A New York Times bestseller*

I was so happy to see a publisher bring fresh new copies of Catherine Marshall’s two novels, Christy and Julie, back into print. Christy was the more famous novel, as it told the true story of Catherine Marshall’s mother, and it got turned into a movie and TV series. Yet Julie is just as exciting, and it’s an especially powerful read knowing that it’s based on Catherine Marshall’s own life, growing up in West Virginia.

I love reading books about writers trying to find their story, and in this novel, Julie Wallace is a young investigative journalist, researching a mystery, which is based on the true story of the Johnstown Flood of 1889. I think this novel makes an important contribution to preserving American history, especially that of the small town newspaper, which today’s generation of digital readers may never get to experience.

Will the dam hold?

Julie Wallace has always wanted to write. Trying to escape the Great Depression, Julie’s father buys the Alderton Sentinel, a small-town newspaper in flood-prone Alderton, Pennsylvania, and moves his family there. As flash floods ominously increase, Julie’s investigative reporting uncovers secrets that could endanger the entire community.

Julie, the newspaper, and her family are thrown into a perilous standoff with the owners of the steel mills as they investigate the conditions of the immigrant laborers. As the Alderton Sentinel and Julie take on a more aggressive role to reform these conditions, seething tensions come to a head.

When a devastating tragedy follows a shocking revelation, Julie’s courage and strength are tested. Will truth and justice win, or will Julie lose everything she holds dear?