Book Review: Faithful to Laura

I'm a big fan of Kathleen Fuller and her newest book Faithful to Laura is no exception. The work tells the story of a young woman silenced by hurt but seething with revenge. It's not uncommon in our society but a bit of an oxymoron in the Amish community. At the same time, elsewhere in the community is a young man who's overcome monstrous adversity to lead a productive life.

Fuller does an amazing job of crafting the story together. Every one of her characters is flawed and makes a critical mistake. Family loyalty is tested, but in complicated, real-life scenarios. Should one be faithful to one's own parents, one's adoptive parents, one's grandmother who rejected one's parents, one's girlfriend, or someone else altogether?

Fuller's book doesn't have long scenes of characters praying desperately for guidance. Neither does it paint detailed romantic pictures of young couples dating. Even the wedding scenes are short. Her book delves beyond the superficial stereotypes that often plague Christian fiction to explore deeper questions that many young adults face: relationships, infidelity, faith, loyalty. The ultimate question every character faces: To what degree can they change the behavior and beliefs of others? and should they?

Amazing Book: My Stubborn Heart

Oftentimes, Christian fiction can fall into a rut where beautiful, pious Christian woman meets handsome but backsliding single man, is attracted to him but repulsed by his profane ways, prays that God will restore his Christian heart, and winds up marrying the man of her dreams. Becky Wade's My Stubborn Heart defies this pattern.

A first book for Becky, My Stubborn Heart counts the tale of a young career woman who has everything in her life figured out: a perfect career, a consuming hobby, a condo, a faith, and a style. When she moves to Pennsylvania for a six month project to restore her ancestor's home, she expects to spend time bonding with her grandmother and poring over antiques. So why does her grandmother insist that she'd be the perfect match the reticent, bitter handyman who comes over every day?

I love Wade's storytelling style as she captures the nuances of each character's personality and thoughts. There's a wonderful passage where Kate joins a Sunday School class and laments that being 30 and single is akin to being labeled a loser. Why is it that singles 30 and older are always separated from younger singles? Is it because their labeled as hopelessly stymied in love? She muses that any group is better than the hopeless singles group. The grieving group, the divorcee group, even the janitor's group would be better than the group God's placed her in.

Throughout the story, Wade paints vivids pictures of characters struggling in everyday life. Unlike much of Christian fiction, My Stubborn Heart contains some very compelling minor characters as well. A young mother of two who can never maintain order, a widower desperate to gain the good graces of a divorced woman, a group of grandmothers intent on marrying off all the single men and women around them, and even young people struggling with abusive pasts.

I've already lent my copy of My Stubborn Heart to a dear friend to read. And I'm eagerly anticipating Becky Wade's next book. I'm sure you'll want to add her to your list of new favorite authors as well.

I received a free review copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers and was not required to write a positive review.

Review: A Heart of Gold

Robin Lee Hatcher's A Heart of God captures the story of a young woman torn by wartime loyalties on the gold rush frontier. It combines the thrill of the Civil War with the trials of frontier life and unpredictability. As each character is forced to make choices to maintain their own livelihood, how can they remain true to God, to their own person, and to their calling? What happens when all these people interact and their chemistry gets entangled?

Hatcher does a fantastic job of portraying the complexity of frontier life particularly as a bloodly civil war rages in the distance. While she does use stereotypes of the freespirited Western man and the domesticated lady, she weaves them together in a way that is compelling and fresh.

I received a free review copy from the publisher; the opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Book Review: The Accidental Bride

Would you read a book titled The Accidental Bride: A Big Sky Romance? This new book by Denise Hunter profiles a young woman who has been shunned in love and who has yet to forgive the man who left her at the altar. Many years later as the widowed mother of a young girl, she crosses paths again with her former lover. If that isn't bad enough, some well-meaning neighbors interfere with some town plans and accidentally serve as witnesses in an actual wedding ceremony!!

In the annals of Christian fiction, this book isn't particularly Christian. It doesn't deal with deep religious issues or long spiritual quests. The pastor is not a key figure and neither is some moral or biblical passage. Yet, it is a clean, well-written book about a hilarious subject matter. It's true that this would never happen in real life, but The Accidental Bride is sure to keep you captivating by its turning and twisting plot and the end cannot be but satisfying.

Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher and was not required to give a positive review.

Book Review: Love on the Line

I'm a big fan of Deanne Gist's Christian historical fiction, and I jumped at the opportunity to review her latest book, Love on the Line. I definitely enjoyed this book as much as her previous books.

Love on the Line tells the story of a switchboard operator named Gail who's proud of her independent ways. She's a strong woman with her own ideas of how the world runs, and she doesn't need men in her life. Unfortunately, a secret agent named Luke has been assigned to be her supervisor, and he simply will not go away. As the two battle for territory, curious subplots arise. What if Gail would benefit from a counterpart? Is Luke running from his own past? And is it possible that they both may be bearing burdens that are not their own?

Between the two characters, the plot moves the book along. But the reader is forced to consider the true meaning of friendship and the extent to which one can bear responsibility for the past. For me, it was a moving way to consider how much, in attempting to be independent, we can assume that our actions determine the course of events, forgetting that there are other people and that there is a God who is in control of everything. In fact, we really aren't as big as we think we are.

Note: I received a review copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers and was not required to write a positive review.

Book Review: House of Secrets

I'm a bit behind in my book reviews, so this blog may be inundated with a bunch of reviews in the next few days.... (Just a warning.)


House of Secrets by Tracie Peterson is quite an intense book. Tracie follows a family torn apart by the death of the mother so many years before. Each family member has a different interpretation of the past. When the father demands that his three daughters meet him at their old summer cottage (the last place they saw their mother), the girls don't know what to expect. What good can come out of returning to this place they've all worked so hard to forget??

I would say that this is a extremely intense book, dealing with serious mental health issues, suicide, murder, atheism, courtship, and conversion all at the same time. The circumstances are so extreme and the conclusions so bland that I was initially tempted to write this book off as a superficial Christian novel that was far too scary to read before bed.

However, the more I consider it, I think this book does raise questions about family relationships and how family members can care for each other even in hard, confusing, or even wrong circumstances. The father is counseled not to tell his daughters anything; it will be better for them, they say. He takes that word too far though and refuses to have a relationship with them, leaving them alone often & only providing for them with material goods but neglecting to realize that they also may be grieving the loss of their mother as well & need him as emotional support.

For me, this book caused me to stop and think about how families can walk through difficult circumstances. The striking thing in all the characters is that they're doing what's best for the others; yet, in so doing, they neither address their own needs nor truly meet the needs of those they mean to help. Because of the lack of conversation and the fear of discussing the real issue at hand, everyone works hard and blindly to help. In this sense, Traci Peterson has captured the moment and the feeling of Christian families trying to cope with tragedy or difficult situations, particularly situations that "don't happen to real Christians." I would highly recommend this book to readers who want to go beyond simple Christian faith and consider the place of faith and family in trying circumstances. (Just, maybe, don't read it before bed!)

Note: I received a review copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers and was not required to write a positive review.

Civil War Fiction :)

Another day, another book. Some days I marvel at the type of books that interest me. But sometimes, I'm not surprised. Golden Keyes Parsons' newest book His Steadfast Love is definitely one of those.

There's a strange interim period for many Southern states between December 1860 and April 1861. Following the election of Abraham Lincoln, the state of South Carolina seceded from the Union in December. Several states followed suit. Lincoln was officially inaugurated in March, but the war did not officially begin until the firing at Fort Sumter in April 1861. At that point, several key wavering Southern states joined the Confederate cause.

Parsons begins her book during this interim period in Texas. Texas stands as a rather unique state as it had recently acquired statehood & was immediately faced with the question of slavery. Still dealing with the threat of Mexico, Texas was occupied by Federal troops protecting the state from Mexican encroachment. In this context, Amanda as the daughter of the local pastor, meets Captain Kent Littlefield. Though attraction is almost immediate and mutual, Amanda refuses to consider marriage as a possibility because she vowed to her mother that she would look after her younger siblings. As she grapples with this monumental task, Texas secedes in March 1861 and Federal troops are recalled.

Parsons does a remarkable job using the historical context and presenting the reader with the dilemmas of war and of slavery without letting the setting overshadow the storyline. Amanda is lost in love primarily because of a familial vow. Although her family is tested by war, she ultimately has to make her decision based on the advice of close friends and through petition to the God who oversees her and her family.

It's convenient that Federal troops come to Texas once more and now Lieutenant Littlefield crosses her path again. Amanda is faced with the matter of loyalty to the Confederacy or the Union multiple times in this work. But Parsons' genius lies in revealing the complexity of ordinary dilemmas, the tragedy of death, and the confusion of young adulthood that many face no matter where or when.

[I received a free review copy of this work from Thomas Nelson and was not required to give a positive review.]

Christian Fiction... the Realistic Kind

As I mentioned before, I have a weakness for Christian fiction. So when I had the chance to review a book for Thomas Nelson publishers, I jumped at the opportunity!! Beth Webb Hart's newest book, Sunrise on the Battery looked a really intriguing read. Like her previous book, it takes place in Charleston, South Carolina in modern times.

The book synopsis seems to promise a novel about a couple who have given everything for a place in high society. The wife, Mary, comes to know God and prays for her husband to come to know him as well. When he does get saved, he becomes an overenthusiastic Christian, threatening their status in society.

I expected the book to be about Mary's struggles with her husband's spiritual awakening and subsequent activity. For those of us who have been Christians for a while, this dilemma is familiar. If not with our family members, we've seen this in friends and acquaintances. What do you do when someone sees overzealous?

In this sense, Hart's book is disappointing. Jackson doesn't convert until page 183 out of 277 pages. The next 95 pages do detail his overzealous activities, and Mary does have a difficult time coming to terms with the vast change in her husband. However, Hart fails to give a Christian perspective on how to confront the situation. One of the main characters fails into sinful thoughts and others are just confused. Everything seems to be miraculously resolved in the last chapter.

Mary and her husband have three children with very different personalities. In the first two-thirds of the book, they add to the nuance of this story. However, after Jackson's conversion, they seem to fall by the wayside.

All in all, I enjoyed this book more than Hart's previous book Love, Charleston. However, it seems more disappointing than inspiring. It seems so realistic that there is no clear take home message from the book. I leave the book just as confused about this issue as before I began.

A Memoir

I have to confess that I have a weakness for Christian fiction. Despite the fact that I spend much of my work life reading huge tomes, I also spend my free time reading!!!! Reading is a great way to adventure into another world without having to worry about time travel or anachronisms. In addition, if something bothers you or annoys you, you can instantly leave (without offending anyone.)

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I had the opportunity to read an interesting & very personal memoir of a young Canadian who went to Oxford in England to pursue her graduate studies in English. Little did she know that her quest for academic knowledge would morph into a quest for spiritual experience. Reading Carolyn Weber's Surprised by Oxford was an amazing way to gain insight into the complexities of graduate study and the ways in which God can still have a place in your time, in your heart, and in your living. I was definitely very impressed by the character of TDH and his Christian testimony. Furthermore, Carolyn's details regarding the questionings that led to her ultimate salvation choice were described quite poignantly. Drawing from her own memories and studies, she lays out the process by which God draws her to know Him.

This is definitely a spiritual memoir worth reading!! Many conversion narratives can over-emphasize the supernatural or give a run-of-the-mill telling. Surprised by Oxford grants the reader a personal look into a very real and rather unique experience of a modern woman searching for meaning in the middle of her career. However, I found that the last third of the book did seem to drag a bit. The book itself is 440 pages, and perhaps some of the final part could have been condensed.

I received a free copy of this book to review through Book Sneeze. I would recommend this as a definite book to check out from the library; however, I would hesitate to purchase this book myself.