Friday, June 24, 2011

summer reading program! first book review!

I've joined the Tyndale Summer Reading program! Once you read and post a review of 5 books, you can start earning free books! I decided to start with a couple of books that I have read recently, that I really enjoyed.

Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers
First of all I LOVE Francine Rivers. I have read just about each book that she has written since becoming a Christian, and I really enjoyed each one. Most of her novels are very allegorical (I think that's the right word for it) where the story clearly shows a very spiritual issue and causes you to think deeply about that issue. This series departs from that way of writing and is more of a historical fiction, which she explains is based loosely on her family's history.

The story follows Marta, a young girl born in Switzerland. Marta was treated very poorly by her father and eventually leaves home at a young age in search of making a better life for herself. She misses her mother and sister greatly, but realizes that if she ever were to come home her father would make sure that she never left again. Marta has great ambition and her drive to own her own business of a hotel and restaurant lead her around Europe and eventually lands her in America. The story is really interesting and really leaves you hanging and wanting to read the conclusion in the next novel.

As I mentioned I love Rivers work and this is also a wonderfully told story. The series deals with personal conflict between family members as well as some tough issues like abuse and family members who no longer speak to each other. Many of Rivers other novels wrap up very nicely in the end, but this one takes a more "real-life" approach to story telling and hopefully I'm not spoiling it by saying that while I found the story filled with hope, things don't wrap up as neatly in the end for everyone.

Overall, I'd greatly recommend this series to anyone that enjoys Rivers previous works or is just in the mood for a good summer read!

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