Archives

What Happens Next by Christina Suzann Nelson

Feb20

Heartbreakingly Beautiful

What Happens Next by Christina Suzann Nelson is a most beautiful and heartbreaking Christian dual timeline novel that consumed me from the start. I never wanted it to end.

The action is set in 1987 and then thirty-five years later. We hear the events in the third person from several different points of view. We get to know the characters intimately from ten-year-old Heather in 1987 to her best friend and her mother thirty-five years later. It is love and memories which link the lives.

Since 1987 Heather has been missing. Her mother has been unable to grieve as she is keeping hope alive. “Hope was life-giving… Could she survive without hope?”

The loss has torn the family apart. The love of God and each other is the glue needed to help them all to live again. We hear “she’d turned her back on God… But that didn’t stop Him from being there, still waiting on His lost child.” God, our Father lovingly awaits the prodigal returning home.

Heather’s mother, Dora, held everyone at arm’s length since her daughter’s disappearance. “Her heart battled to keep a barrier between herself and the kind of love that could end in devastating loss.” To love and to lose hurts too much to do again, so it is easier to wall up a heart. “The world kept spinning, no matter how much Dora needed it to stop.” We can never fathom why life continues when our hearts are broken.

Continue reading →

The League Of Lonely War Women by Andie Newton

Feb19

Loyalty, Bravery, Camaraderie

The League Of Lonely War Women by Andie Newton is a powerful historical tale that gripped me from the start. It is a fictional tale that is grounded in facts.

The story has four brave young women at its’ heart. They are American analysts working in Britain during World War II. They are transferred to Rome working for the OSS, which sees them parachuting into the heart of Nazi Germany in order to undertake a dangerous mission. Two of the women are tasked with something even more secret and dangerous, which they cannot tell the other two about. They hope to disrupt the Nazi war effort by lowering morale of the soldiers.

Andie Newton has created admirable characters. We see that trust and bonds formed in war will never break, even if separated for a time. Cunning and stealth is needed especially when they need to flee Nazi Germany.

The book is set in 1944 when it was clear that the Nazis were losing the war. Soldiers are dissatisfied. “He was swimming in unequal parts pain, hopelessness, and hurt.” We also see that boys are being recruited as soldiers. “He looked young, but his eyes had a tormented glaze to them from the war… I hoped he wasn’t one of the boys recruited directly from the Hitler Youth.”

This is a tale of two halves – war and peace – We rejoin the story ten years later as the two women who were on a special mission, now have the chance to complete it. But America is more concerned with the red in the bed than Nazi war criminals. The CIA did not reckon on the drive of the four women to complete unfinished business.

Continue reading →

Yesterday’s Tides by Roseanna M White

Jan28

God’s Faithfulness

Yesterday’s Tides by Roseanna M White is a powerful dual timeline novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The action is set during both world wars, and is linked by the generations of a family. The chapters alternate between the two time periods. Much of the action is set on Ocracoke, a small American island.

All the characters were well drawn and believable. I loved the fact that there were cameo appearances of characters from other Roseanna M White’s books. This added to the feeling a familiarity for the reader.

Lies and suspicion happens within a family as well as during times of war. Characters in both time periods are cruelly treated and time with children is snatched away. As is the time with a spouse.

There is the theme of forgiveness. When there is much to forgive, it does not come easy – but forgiveness is a s much for the welfare of the giver, as it is for the receiver.

There are several generations of strong women. They have had to rise above their circumstances. They are overcomers. The reader’s heart breaks for the abused wife who tells her small daughter: “You hear him [her father] coming, and you run, baby girl. You run to Lulu and spend the night with her.”

Many of the women have grown up under the Jim Crow laws, shunned because of their skin colour. The prejudices remain. The women are so much more than the colour of their skin. They are hardworking, and full of goodness, serving others where they can.

Continue reading →

What Tomorrow Will Be by Julianne MacLean

Jan20

A Work Of Great Beauty

What Tomorrow Will Be by Julieanne MacLean is the most beautiful contemporary novel that will lodge deep in your heart and soul. Every once in a while, a book comes along that profoundly impacts me – and this is that book. I know it will stay with me forever.

The action is in three main time periods – 1998, 2006 and 2025. These are pivotal moments in the lives of characters. They are the defining years. A life is bookmarked by two freak accidents – both have huge emotional impact for all those involved. We often wonder – why do bad things happen to good people? Sometimes there are just no answers but I was reminded of the Bible passage in Genesis 49 where God uses bad circumstances and flips it round to good.

You never forget your first love – especially if it has been ripped away. A character has had the big love of her life, and of her present love she says: “It doesn’t feel earth shattering. It’s a quieter kind of love.” It is a love on which lives and a family have been built – but are the foundations strong enough to weather the storms?

Personal dreams are good to have, to give you something to strive for, but not at the expense of today. “I spend too much time mapping out my future. As a result, I forget to enjoy the present.” Do not miss the present because the future is not guaranteed.

Continue reading →