Author Robin Jones Gunn defines a sisterchick as “a friend who laughs with you till you cry and cries with you till you laugh; a gift from God.”  The latest installment in her popular series is Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes!  Although I am familiar with “Sisterchicks” books, this is the first one I’ve read.  The story is of two lifelong penpals, Summer Finley and Noelle Van Zandt, who have never met face-to-face.  After receiving some unsettling medical test results, Summer makes an uncharacteristically spontaneous decision to visit Noelle at her home in Holland.   Before facing what may be a catastrophic health issue, she simply wants to leave it behind – if only for a while.

Much of Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes! reads like a travelogue as Summer describes the beauty of the Netherlands.  The depiction of canals and tulip fields were more in-depth than those of the characters.  To me, the dialogue between Summer and Noelle seemed reserved, cautious.  I am fortunate enough to have a few “sisterchicks” in my own life but our conversations are filled with much more easy [not to mention hysterical] laughter and raw emotion than shown between these two friends.   But maybe that’s just us.

The book flows easily and is a fast read, perfect for a day at the beach or a rainy afternoon.  If often felt more like a woman’s devotional book rather than a novel, with bits of Scripture and snippets of inspiration.  I’m sure that fans of this genre will enjoy Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes!

If you would like to WIN a FREE copy of “Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes”, please leave a comment below.  Winner will be chosen at random from all comments left between 06/09/09 and 06/16/09.

To learn more about this book and to purchase a copy, please click on the photo below or visit this website:
https://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781601420091&ref=externallink_mlt_sisterchicksinwoodenshoes_sec_0423_01

 

I started reading Saints in Limbo under a blue sky on a perfect afternoon.   Occasionally I drifted off to sleep while reading.  My dozing was in no way a reflection of the book but due to having been properly raised in the South where Sunday afternoons are meant for napping.  Somehow, though, I think author River Jordan [isn't that a great name?] would approve.  From the first page of the prologue, reading Saints in Limbo felt like stepping into a dream.

Velma True is an unusual woman who, since her husband’s death a year ago, hasn’t ventured past the driveway of her rural home in Echo, Florida.  On her birthday, a mysterious man brings her a mysterious gift that allows her to revisit scenes from days long passed.  The powerful memories leave her shaken as they reveal times of purest joy and deepest sorrow.  She relives days when her ever-charming son, Rudy, was a young boy.  No one expected him to amount to much and he did not disappoint.  But his mama is never without hope that one day he will become the man he was created to be. 

When Velma receives the gift, she is warned that there will be ’scouts’ who will try to take it from her.  And those scouts give Saints in Limbo moments of pure nightmare terror.  I began reading the book on a sunny afternoon.  I finished it in the wee hours of the morning….unable to sleep until I read past the spine-chilling confrontations.  This beautiful, ethereal story seamlessly binds together the natural and spiritual worlds with humor, suspense and truth.   Have you ever been awakened after a dream and wished you could fall back to sleep and re-dream it?  Thankfully, I can and will savor the dream of Saints in Limbo again and again.

To learn more about this book, simply click the photo below or check out this website:  http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307446701&ref=externallink_wbm_saintsinlimbo_eaj_0408_01

For your chance to WIN a FREE COPY of this book, simply leave a comment!  Winner will be drawn at random from all comments left between 06/05/09 and 06/15/09.

It’s been said more than once that baseball brings people together.   There is just such a connection between the four central characters in Allison Pittman’s Stealing Home.  The year is 1905 and Donald “Duke” Dennison is the golden boy of the Chicago Cubs.  His image has been tarnished, however, by his drunken antics.  Unlike the high profile recoveries of today’s superstars, his stint in “rehab” is kept undercover as he is sent to tiny Picksville, Missouri for the sole purpose of getting sober.  While in town, Duke will be a guest at the Voyant home.  Ellie Jane Voyant leads a quiet, orderly life working alone in a ticket booth by day and keeping house for her widowed father at night.  She is completely unaware that she is the object of Ned Clovis’ affection, a feed store clerk who leads a similarly uneventful life.   The only thing he loves nearly as much as Miss Voyant is baseball…and its star player, Duke Dennison.   Finally, there is Morris Bennett, a 12 year old Negro boy who earns money running errands for the townspeople, and saves for his dream of leaving Picksville.  When Duke discovers the boy’s amazing natural ability to throw a baseball, their newfound bond and love of the game spreads throughout the town.

I’ll confess that when I saw the cover of Stealing Home, my first thought was that this was another tale of ”prim schoolmarm meets rogue athlete, scandal ensues”.  I am thrilled to report that I could not have been more wrong.  The characters are surprising, the writing is flawless and the story is enthralling.  Although each chapter focuses on one of the four main characters, only Morris’ story is written in first person.   His dialogue shows a wisdom far beyond his years, a biting wit and a tender heart unwilling to abandon his dreams.  He was so precious that I literally just wanted to find this little boy and hug him. 

Four separate lives are drawn together by America’s pastime and bound together by healing, forgiveness and love.  The baseball diamond proves to be more than just a field of dreams.  In Stealing Home, it is a field of hope.

To learn more about Stealing Home, please click on the photo below or visit this website: http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781601421364&ref=externallink_mlt_stealinghome_eaj_0408_01

If you would like to WIN a FREE copy of Stealing Home, please leave a comment below.  Winner will be chosen at random from all comments left between 06/02/09 and 06/12/09.  Thank you!