A Promising Wind by John R. Christensen is an unforgettable story of a boy turning into a man in the hardship of the early 50's. The time is 1952 when teenager, Ely, decides to venture out on his own to the small town of Hopewell, Nova Scotia thousands of miles away. Ely, after travelling the hobo rails from the prairies, shows up unannounced at his Uncle Clarence's farm. The story of him trying to get to Nova Scotia had me hooked. The 50’s were rough years, especially for a teenager on his own. Living and working for his Uncle, Ely now begins the arduous trials and tribulations of being the new kid in town. He tries to make some friends, has run-ins with the town bullies, works harder than he has ever had as a lobsterman and tries to find true love. At the same time, he is keeping secret his special ability which ends up saving many lives one night. Hopewell, being a small community, has its own secrets: an unsolved bank heist; mysterious deaths; lost loves and miraculous events. It is an exciting summer for Ely.

The way in which the author, Christensen, describes the sights, sounds and smells brought me back to rural Nova Scotia. This reviewer knows exactly how hard it is to be the new kid. That was me in the 70’s not thirty minutes from Hopewell, so I have a kinship with Ely; it was fun but not easy. Christensen's writing style is polished. His character development and storytelling is top notch. Within a few pages I was comparing his writing to Grisham's "A Painted House", but better. A Promising Wind is his first novel and I will be keeping John R. Christensen on my must read list from now on.