Category Archives: Light Messages Publishing

Review: The Next to Last Mistake by Amalie Jahn

Title: The Next to Last Mistake by Amalie Jahn
Publisher: Light Messages Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
Length: 286 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Tess Goodwin’s life in rural Iowa is sheltered and uncomplicated. Although she chooses to spend most of her free time playing chess with her best friend Zander, the farm-boy from next door, her skills as a bovine midwife and tractor mechanic ensure that she fits in with the other kids at East Chester High. But when her veteran father reenlists in the Army, moving her family halfway across the country to North Carolina, Tess is forced out of her comfort zone into a world she knows nothing about.

Tess approaches the move as she would a new game of chess, plotting her course through the unfamiliar reality of her new life. While heeding Zander’s long-distance advice for making new friends and strategizing a means to endure her dad’s imminent deployment to the Middle East, she quickly discovers how ill-equipped she is to navigate the societal challenges she encounters and becomes convinced she’ll never fit in with the students at her new school.

When Leonetta Jackson is assigned as her mentor, she becomes Tess’s unexpected guide through the winding labyrinth of cultural disparities between them, sparking a tentative friendship and challenging Tess to confront her reluctant nature. As the pieces move across the board of her upended life, will Tess find the acceptance she so desperately desires?

Review:

The Next to Last Mistake by Amalie Jahn is an insightful  young adult novel that touches on important societal issues.

Tess Goodwin loves life on her family’s Iowa dairy farm. She genuinely enjoys her chores and she loves their small herd of cows.  Tess is also quite close to her next door neighbor and best friend, Zander. Her life takes an unexpected turn when her veteran father reenlists in the military, sells the farm and moves the family to North Carolina.

Tess’s concerns about going to a new school are unfounded since she is paired with Leonetta Jackson who shows her around school. Despite having little in common, she and Leonetta are soon best friends.  Their friendship quickly expands to include two other young women, Alice and Summer. For the first time, Tess is also exposed to a racially diverse environment where she is stunned to see her friends experience racial injustice. Tess is a little insensitive with some of her remarks and observations, but instead of taking offense, her friends help her understand how very different her life is from theirs.

The Next to Last Mistake is an engaging novel that is sweet and thought-provoking. Despite missing the farm and Zander, Tess embraces her new experiences which broaden her horizons and her worldview. The friendships are endearing and the racial diversity and subsequent discussions are informative. Amalie Jahn brings to the novel to a rather  poignant yet realistic conclusion. I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend this fast-paced young adult novel to readers of all ages.

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Filed under Amalie Jahn, Contemporary, Light Messages Publishing, Rated B+, Review, The Next to Last Mistake, Young Adult

Review: A Saint in Graceland by Deborah Hining

saint gracelandTitle: A Saint in Graceland by Deborah Hining
Publisher: Light Messages Publishing
Genre: Historical (70s), Christian, Fiction
Length: 364 pages
Book Rating: C+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Grieving her mother’s death and yearning to see more of the world beyond her mountain home, Sally Beth sets out on a journey that leads her across the American Southwest and ultimately to a remote mission station in Tanzania, where she finds a new kind of freedom in the African plains and the people who dwell there. But when war comes to the mission gates, its horrors shatter her world. She must find a way to rebuild her life and choose whether or not to serve the people she’s grown to love—a choice that will shake the simple faith of her childhood and ignite her passion for a wounded man.

Review:

Set in the late 1970s, A Saint in Graceland by Deborah Hining combines fact with fiction and the resulting storyline is quite interesting.  Although labeled Christian fiction, I consider it a non-traditional faith-based novel due to some of the subject matter.

Following the death of her beloved mother, Sally Beth Lenoir is thrilled that her younger sister Lilly is ready to move back to their small WV town after living in Las Vegas for several months.  The sisters decide to take some detours on the their drive home to visit a few famous landmarks (the Grand Canyon, etc).  Joining  them on their journey is Lilly’s neighbor Tiffany aka Edna Mae and the trio enjoy a raucous fun-filled trip that puts Sally Beth in some very uncomfortable situations.  Gambling, drinking and dancing in honkytonks are not exactly Sally Beth’s usual pursuits but despite some serious reservations, she decides to throw caution to the wind and tag along on Lilly and Edna Mae’s adventures.  Soon after their return to WV, Lilly makes a surprising decision about her future and Sally Beth accepts an offer to join their family doctor on a mission to Tanzania.

Although Sally Beth is a woman of strong faith and convictions, she is also quite kind-hearted and compassionate.  Somewhat naive and rather innocent, she is definitely out of her depth when she gets to Las Vegas, but she easily gives in to Lilly’s suggestions to experience all the town has to offer.  Sally Beth finds it impossible to say no to either Lilly or Edna Mae on their road trip and while she is initially uncomfortable with some of their activities, she is surprised by how much fun she is having.  Trying to remain true to her beliefs, she continues to pray for guidance and strength but Lilly and Edna Mae effortlessly override her objections time and again.

Certain that God is guiding her, Sally Beth eagerly agrees to join Dr. Sams on his upcoming mission to Tanzania.  The experience is a dream come true for Sally Beth and the first few months of the trip are rather idyllic.  She is blessed with new friendships as she volunteers at the mission clinic and she is fascinated by African culture and customs.  But Sally Beth is soon shocked and appalled by the widespread practice of female circumcision and she is cautioned by several acquaintances to refrain from trying to preach against the procedure.  Still reeling from this discovery, she suffers a crisis of faith when war breaks out between the Tanzanians and neighboring Ugandans.  Stunned by the violence and unable to understand why God is allowing such atrocities to occur, Sally Beth turns to John Smith, a friend from back home, for comfort.

A Saint in Graceland feels like two completely different novels.  The first half of the story is light-hearted with over the top antics and ridiculous predicaments.  The second half starts off innocuous enough with Sally Beth easily settling into life at the mission, making friends and exploring the countryside. The plot gradually becomes more serious as Sally Beth learns about female circumcision and the situation in Uganda heats up then spills over into civil war. With the circumstances at the mission becoming more perilous by the minute, Sally Beth’s stubborn refusal to leave puts herself and others in danger.  Just when it appears the key players are finally safe, Sally Beth and her loved ones find themselves in harm’s way yet again. While this aspect of the novel is well researched, the long descriptive passages eventually become a little tedious and the “people in peril” situations become repetitive.

Despite these few issues, A Saint in Graceland is an engaging faith-based novel.  The characters are realistic and the fact that they are imperfect and make questionable decisions make them easy for readers to relate to.  The incorporation of real life events provides depth and substance to the storyline and Deborah Hining’s research is impeccable.  Her descriptive prose brings the various settings vividly to life and readers will have no difficulty visualizing the alarming events in Tanzania. There is also a slight romantic element to the storyline that is quite understated but it plays an important role in Sally Beth’s crisis of faith.

Although A Saint in Graceland is a sequel to Sinners in Paradise, it can be read as a standalone.

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Filed under A Saint in Graceland, Christian, Deborah Hining, Fiction, Historical, Historical (70s), Light Messages Publishing, Rated C+, Review

Review: How to Climb the Eiffel Tower by Elizabeth Hein

climbTitle: How to Climb the Eiffel Tower by Elizabeth Hein
Publisher: Light Messages Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction
Length: 328 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

A moving, surprisingly humorous, sometimes snarky novel about life, friendship… and cancer

Lara Blaine believes that she can hide from her past by clinging to a rigid routine of work and exercise. She endures her self-imposed isolation until a cancer diagnosis cracks her hard exterior. Lara’s journey through cancer treatment should be the worst year of her life. Instead, it is the year that she learns how to live. She befriends Jane, another cancer patient who teaches her how to be powerful even in the face of death. Accepting help from the people around her allows Lara to confront the past and discover that she is not alone in the world. With the support of her new friends, Lara gains the courage to love and embrace life. Like climbing the Eiffel Tower, the year Lara meets Jane is tough, painful, and totally worth it.

The Review:

How to Climb the Eiffel Tower is a genuine portrayal of what it is like to have cancer. Elizabeth Hein does not downplay the physical or emotional aspects that result from such a life-altering diagnosis. While parts of the novel are heartbreaking, it is not bleak or depressing. Instead it is an uplifting story of friendship and healing for main character Lara Blaine as she triumphs over not only cancer but her traumatic past as well.

In the beginning, Lara is not an easy character to like or relate to. She is super smart and extremely dedicated to her job, but she is very disconnected from her co-workers. She leads a rather lonely life and she adheres to a strict schedule in an effort to keep her memories at bay. Her cancer diagnosis is shocking but Lara has no intention of letting her treatments interfere with her life or job. And at first, she is able to do just that but then she is hit hard by the side effects of her treatments and the toughest journey of her life begins when she is forced to accept help from the people around her.

One of the first people Lara befriends is Jane, an older woman who has also been diagnosed with cancer. She and Jane provide one another with emotional support and friendship as they battle their diseases. As Lara shares her burdens with Jane, she begins to heal from her abusive past.

The next person Lara unexpectedly lets into her life is Vanessa Klaitner, and this is the relationship that proves most beneficial both personally and professionally. Vanessa is the HR rep at the firm Lara works for, and with Vanessa’s assistance, Lara finally gets the professional recognition she deserves. Vanessa’s friendship is absolutely priceless and she is the person everyone needs at their side during a crisis. Vanessa steamrolls over Lara’s objections and inserts herself smack dab in the middle of her life which is just what Lara needs.

Lara’s transformation into a likable and sympathetic character is slow, but believable. As she begins to let people into her life, her rough edges begin to soften and her caring, compassionate side begins to fully emerge. Lara is still slow to trust but she does not hesitate to accept friendship when it is offered and by the novel’s end, she begins to open herself to the possibilities of love.

How to Climb the Eiffel Tower by Elizabeth Hein is a hopeful, poignant and inspiring novel.  Despite the serious subject matter, it is a story that focuses on the positive while providing a realistic representation of a cancer diagnosis. It is an overall engrossing and thought-provoking novel of friendship that I highly recommend.

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Filed under Contemporary, Elizabeth Hein, Fiction, How to Climb the Eiffel Tower, Light Messages Publishing, Rated B+, Review