The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield

This is the author's first book and it is very heartwarming. The characters are very real - very true to life. The story takes place in 1956 - in Arkansas. The title seems to indicate that Samuel Lake is the main character, yet I believe the story centers more on Swan Lake - his daughter. 

This book was picked by one of the women in our book club and it was a wonderful pick. We very much enjoyed the book and the discussion of the book. While the ending was very believable and understandable - all of us at the book club felt so much for Toy's character - that we would have wished for a different ending for him. Yet, knowing Toy and what he stood for - we could all see how and why he would make the sacrifice for those he loved. And Toy probably felt he didn't have much else to live for - and yet Samuel did and the kids needed their Dad around. 

Heart Echoes by Sally John

This is a wonderful story. It is in the category of Christian fiction. While it is a Christian book it is not preachy. The characters are flawed and the main character, Teal, is in need of forgiveness - while she believes in Christ as her savior she doesn't recognize that through Him her sins are forgiven and therefore she can now finally forgive herself for the mistakes she made. The book speaks to second chances - those second chances we are granted when we learn to accept the free gift of God's forgiveness. 

The author penned a note in the back of the book - she says " Our beings echo with our experiences, with voices of other people, with our perspectives. We live out all of these, whether they are truth of lies. Sometimes we can't tell the difference." (p. 347) Oh how true this is. We, often believe ourselves to be something other than what God intended for us to be. I know that I was picked on alot in school growing up - and through that I believed I was worth less and not as good as the 'cool kids'. It affected my entire self esteem and it wasn't until I was in college - and through a friend met Christ - that I realized my self worth came because I was a child of God and He loved me. Loved me enough to die for my sins. That is powerful. 

The book speaks to living in TRUTH in all aspects of our lives. In one part, Teal has not told her daughter who her biological father is because she is afraid of what others will think of her, afraid of the reactions of others and afraid of the bio-dad's reaction when he learns. Her sister believes she needs to face the truth, tell the truth and live in the truth - no matter how difficult that is - as that is the only way to be free from the hurts of the past. My favorite quote from the book is when Lacey tells Teal, "Hon, my cancer wasn't good news, but it was truth. Without the truth, we would all have to live like turtles -- in a shell, always protecting ourselves, hiding from others." (p. 307)

How often do we humans try to hide from truth - because it is too difficult to face our sins, to face the hurt of our actions and ultimately to face God - and know He is disappointed in us. So we hide - hide the truth, hide from ourselves and even try to hide from God. Yet, He knows all and sees all. We can't hide. Only by bringing the sin out into the light can we be free from its hold on us. It takes courage and God's strength to do it --- but if we ask Him He will gladly help us. I have a family member who is hiding from God, hiding her sin and others who enable her to continue to do so. I pray that she will break free of the hold the sin has on her and turn to God who loves her and wants her to come home. The truth will always set us free. I pray that she will come to know the Lord as her savior and realize He will forgive her sins -- all she has to do is ask.

Wildflowers from Winter by Katie Ganshert

Wildflowers from Winter is the author's first book but already she has a second in the series due to come out in spring of 2013 - and I can't wait! The title of the book has to do with the fact that the snowier the winter the more wildflowers you get in spring. This is also often the case with people - we go through a season of harshness - it is a time when maybe God is refining us, or sanding off the rough edges - it can be a season of grief, a season of trials, a season of denying God, being mad at God. When we make it through and come out the other side - there are the wildflowers - the beauty that God has created in our lives - the wonderful things we see and know - that we wouldn't have appreciated had we not gone through the harsh season of winter. The wildflowers can often be the fruit that we know produce - - the fruit of our spirit - that brings others to God. Several of the main characters in this book are going through a season - a harsh season of winter. One is dealing with grief after losing a husband very suddenly. Another, Bethany, is dealing with losing her identity of who she feels she is when she gets let go from her job.  Bethany is also struggling with her image of who God really is and if he is a caring and loving God. 

This was a very good book - one I had difficulty putting down. It is very emotional though as the characters experience several deaths - and that was just very sad to think about. I can't wait for the next book, titled Wishing on Willows - where we get to meet many of the characters again and see their lives progressing. 

The Widow of Saunders Creek

I very much enjoyed this book. Corrie's husband, Jarrod, dies a hero, saving others from a suicide bomber. Corrie is distraught and struggling to deal with her grief. She inherits a family home from her husband in the Ozarks. She decides to move there as she believes she will feel closer to her husband in a place he grew up. Jarrod's cousin, Eli, helps Corrie with the repairs on the house and they become very close. Eli is a Christian and helps to lead Corrie to find Jesus, again. Many in Jarrod's family, though, dabble in witchcraft. What I loved about this book is that it explores the issue of witchcraft from a biblical standpoint. God speaks out against witchcraft and I love that this book depicts that witchcraft exists but that it is not from God and therefore - evil. 

This was a very well written book and was very enjoyable to read. 

between shades of gray - thoughts and ponderings

In one section of the book, Lina jumps to the conclusion that the reason Andrius is sleeping in a nice bed and well fed because his mother has chosen to spy on the others and report to the commander. Lina's mother was asked to do this and refused. She felt it was abhorrent. Andrius lets Lina know she doesn't know what she is talking about and finally he confesses that they had threatened to kill him. Therefore, his mother had to resort to prostituting herself to save her son. 

I read this and thought how often do we misunderstand or mis-read others actions or intentions. We see something and make assumptions - just like Lina did. We draw conclusions when we only have half the facts. How easy it is to be wrong when we only have part of the truth or glimpse into a situation. Yet we condemn others based on the info we have. We should instead be giving others the benefit of the doubt, erring on the side of caution, believing the best in others. I wish I could also be sure I was always talking the high road and giving others the benefit of the doubt - it is hard at times, though, not to jump to conclusions. Something to think about. 

Between Shades of Gray Book Review

It was so exciting - as I was reading the publication from my college - I saw that a lady I went to college with had written a book - titled Between Shades of Gray. I decided to read it and it was very good. Ruta is the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee and it gave her inspiration to research what happened to Lithuania in 1941 when Stalin took over the countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. 

This book was very well written. I also think it is a story that needs to be told - we need to know what happened to countries swallowed up by communism. Communism is a bad system to live under and the horrors the people faced is just hard to imagine. Many in our country feel we should actively embrace socialism and that is just a step away from communism. It is important to read stories like this and see what really happened to others while living under communism. I think it might be quite a wake up call to those that think socialism and communism are okay. Ruta says her goal was to "give a voice to the hundreds of thousands of people who lost their lives during Stalin's cleansing of the Baltic region." (Ruta's blog) I think she does a great job of that and I highly recommend reading this story.

She uses great literary imagery. One is when the people were being transported by train and it took weeks. There was very little food, cramped conditions, unsanitary. Illness and disease started to spread and along with that - death. "Death had begun to gather a crop." (p. 64) I thought this was an interesting choice of words creating a great image. They were hungry / starving, yet the word crops gives one the image of being fed. Here there wasn't any feeding - the crop wasn't a benefit. Death had come! I love her choice of words. 

Letter from a Stranger by Barbara Taylor Bradford

A Letter From a Stranger

Justine Nolan opens a letter addressed to her mother - that indicates that the grandmother they thought died 10 years ago is still alive. There was a rift between Mother and Grandmother - and Justine's mother cut Gram out of all their lives. She told her children - Justin and her twin brother, Richard - that Gram had died. 

Justine flies to Istanbul to try to find her Gram and to get answers as to why her mother declared Gram dead. There is a huge twist at the end. It is a good book. Didn't expect the twist but it did add to the book and made it more interesting. I really enjoyed reading the book although I felt at times that her English was just a bit off - like a sentence should have been written in a different way. Maybe it was just me - but I did have to re-read a few sentences as they just seemed off. Still, I think the story is a good story.