Leah Sorensen was hardly what you would call Relief Society president material. In fact, she was hardly active in her ward when her bishop told her the Lord was calling her to be Relief Society president during one of the most difficult periods of U.S. history: the Great Depression. Will Leah’s practical side let her refuse the calling, or can compassion win her over?

It’s not surprising to see author Dean Hughes embarking on yet another historical fiction journey. But what is surprising about this book is that while it is characteristic of Hughes’ writing style, the whole plot seems like it’s been thought up by a completely different author.

Before the Dawn chronicles the hardships of a 40-ish woman named Leah Sorensen and the difficult choices she has to make as the Relief Society president during the Great Depression. She’s not what the typical person would call compassionate. In fact, she tends to err on the opposite end of compassion - she’s hard-hearted, practical, and not overly friendly. There are some sisters in the ward who refuse to even attend Relief Society when they find out Leah is to be the new president. How can Leah win them over and unite them together as they struggle during this time of hardship?

Dean Hughes is one of my favorite LDS authors, but this book really didn’t do it for me. I kept wondering if there was going to be something else to the book as I read it, but nothing showed up that made me say, “Wow, this book is really good!” I think that maybe Hughes wrote it to be a little bit of a lesson: that with the Lord’s help, we can change. If you’re looking for a real page turner like Children of the Promise, this one isn’t it, but I can definitely see how this one would appeal to the older Relief Society crowd.

You can find Before the Dawn at DeseretBook.com or wherever LDS books are sold.