When you read this blog, you're never quite know what's on the menu. It's like this is my newspaper and I get to decide what is news. Today you're in the entertainment section.
I went to bed early Sunday and enjoyed the treat of getting lost in a fiction book. The librarian in me decided to experiment with a book review. My husband would call this a thinly disguised attempt to justify staying up until the wee small hours of the morning binge reading.
I present Sweetwater Gap by Denise Hunter. Set in small-town America, this well-written tale of love, family ties, and overwhelming guilt beautifully tells about God's forgiveness and second chances.
Josie Mitchell has never felt good about herself. A tragedy drove her from home at age eighteen and still haunts her even six years later. She keeps the bad memories under control as long as she stays away.
Home is where Josie was hurt and home is where she'll be healed. When she returns to the family-owned apple orchard to help her pregnant sister bring in the harvest, she must face her painful past.
Grady Mackenzie, the family's distant orchard manager is clearly irritated about something. Years ago his eighteen-month marriage ended when his wife cheated on him with his best friend. Trust is a huge issue for him and he doesn't trust Josie.
Josie crumbles under her load of guilt and searches for answers. Grady sorts through his own emotional baggage and helps Josie find the peace she so desperately needs.
Sweetwater Gap shows the pain that comes from turning away from God and the pure joy of realizing any sin is forgivable. The power of God's unconditional and redemptive love comes through loud and clear.
I enjoyed reading Denise Hunter's last five books, so eagerly anticipated diving into her newest work. I liked Sweetwater Gap, though not as well as Surrender Bay, which is one of my all-time Christian fiction favorites.
Sweetwater Gap, Surrender Bay, and A Convenient Groom are all written on two levels. The stories stand on their own but also have another layer. Surrender Bay and A Convenient Groom are spiritual allegories. Sweetwater Gap also has another layer, but the illustration isn't as strong as in the other two books.
Sweetwater Gap's redemptive thread is more obvious than in Surrender Bay, which is good. A person could read Surrender Bay and never see the rich second layer. Hunter writes about salvation in a natural, unpreachy manner. She conveys spiritual truths in a subtle, heartwarming way without being overbearing.
Sweetwater Gap is the Women of Faith's 2009 Christian Fiction selection. This is a great honor and well-deserved. The first few chapters were a bit stiff in places, but once the story got going, the rest flowed well. Sweetwater Gap does a great job of showing our need for a Savior, and the healing and peace that only comes from God.
As much as I love books, the frugal side of me hates to spend money on them. I always check my library first, then use inter-library loan for the rest. On the rare occassion, inter-library loan doesn't have the book I want, I check with friends. Since I'm an hour and a half from the nearest Christian book store, I buy from the good folks at Christian Books Distributors http://www.christianbook.com/. Even then I check the bargain section first. And if it can't be found at CBD, there's always Amazon.com.
Until my next installment, good-bye and good day.
No comments:
Post a Comment