I have to admit that it was more determination to finish
what I had started than a deep interest in this book that kept me going to the
end. The plot seemed to meander off in all direction, and
even now I’m not sure of the intent of the book! Was it to see a rather different way of handling
a tough life choice? To share the
frustrations of dealing with recalcitrant teenagers? To take us through the struggle of living by
faith? The author put a lot of effort
into detailing the frustrations felt by the main protagonist, Beth, but the
ending came so abruptly it left me feeling like she had lost interest in the
story, and just wanted to finish it off as quickly as possible.
I did feel challenged myself by the way Lisa Simon handled taking
Beth outside of her own comfort zone in relationships with
others; how she came to see that people outside her own immediate circle had
cares, concerns, and motives for their actions that were different from hers,
but still had great merit. Beth underwent
a huge attitude change in the way she thought about those around her; all of us
could benefit from a similar willingness to look below the obvious outward
surface of strangers. She moves from
someone who resents the presence of a “Jesus fish” on her vehicle to someone
who sees that practical Christianity in action is what is required of a true
follower of Jesus Christ.
The character development in the book is well done; the
reader can “see” the various people described.
If you enjoy a book of vignettes, and are not troubled by lack of a
start-to-finish storyline, you will likely enjoy reading it.
This book was supplied to me free of charge by the publisher
through the BookSneeze program; I was not required to write a positive review.
