Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Two Book Reviews

I finished two books yesterday and here are the reviews for the books:

Book One:
The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller.

Description: [Timothy Keller] uses one of the best-known Christian parables to reveal an unexpected message of hope and salvation.

Review: A very interesting and thought provoking book. While most of the book seemed to be discussing parts of the parable that I already knew and understood, but what was most interesting was his discussion on the eldest son, which rarely gets a worth mention at all in most sermons that I have heard on the parable. Recommended.

Book Two:

The Secret by Beverly Lewis

Description: In the seemingly ordinary Amish home of Grace Byler, secrets abound. Why does her mother weep in the night? Why does her father refuse to admit something is dreadfully wrong? Then, in one startling moment, everything Grace assumed she knew is shattered. Her mother's disappearance leaves Grace reeling and unable to keep her betrothal promise to her long-time beau. Left to pick up the pieces of her life, Grace questions all she has been taught about love, family, and commitment. Heather Nelson is an English grad student, stunned by a doctor's diagnosis. Surely fate would not allow her father to lose his only daughter after the death of his wife a few years before. In denial and telling no one she is terminally ill, Heather travels to Lancaster County--the last place she and her mother had visited together. Will Heather find healing for body and spirit? As the lives of four wounded souls begin to weave together like an Amish patchwork quilt, they each discover missing pieces of their life puzzles--and glimpse the merciful and loving hand of God.


Review: If you have read any of Beverly Lewis' previous books, you can probably get through this book in short order. It was a good read, especially to pass the time as I either was waiting for a bus or riding on the bus to and from work. It is one of the more lighter pieces of fiction that I enjoy and thought that the storylines were intriguing, but mostly liked the storyline with Heather, as there wasn't much and when there was something, it wasn't connected at all to the primary storyline. I hope that the next two books provide more of the Heather storyline, but what one hopes and what one gets are two different things all together. Recommended for those that have enjoyed Ms. Lewis' previous work.

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