It's My LIFE

Secrets, by Kristen Heitzmann

Ok, so these reviews are getting shorter and less helpful, I know. It’s what I get for trying to “catch up” with all the books I’ve read so far.

This was another good book. It’s the first of two, the second is Unforgotten, in the series. You do not have to read Unforgotten to get closure to the main storyline, but you do for the secondary plot.

I loved these two books primarily for Kristen’s ability to carry you along while putting the puzzle pieces of the story together. She keeps me reading and reading and reading.

I guess that’s all I have to say about that….

Unforgotten, by Kristen Heitzmann

This is the second of two books (Secrets is the prequel) that tell a great story that spans two generations. I really enjoy stories that are like puzzles, telling you bits and pieces. There’s spiritual development, romance, and mystery all in one story.

I enjoyed both of these books.

There are a couple of miraculous events in this book which are a little more, um, demonstrative than I am accustomed to written into the story line. After reading Ms. Heitzmann’s website, I learned that she lives in a community of Christians called People of Praise. More research into this community gave me a little more insight into the more charismatic events in her storyline.

The Atonement Child, by Francine Rivers

This book was very, very good. Perhaps recently having a baby made me more sensitive to the storyline. Probably. I’d say this book is almost a 4 1/2 out of 5. I won’t read it again and again, but I will definitely read it at least one more time.

Francine Rivers is one of my favorite authors. Like Kristen Heitzmann, Francine writes stories of spiritual testing and development. Her stories wrap you up and take you along. They are the kind that make you stay up until 1:00 AM just to finish “one more chapter”.

I highly recommend this book.

The Scarlet Thread, by Francine Rivers

This book was pretty good. I like Francine’s style of writing, and the way she develops her characters, but in this book, I just didn’t like the characters. I have a hard time reading fiction where the main characters make really stupid choices.

Women who allow themselves to be verbally abused make me very angry. It was very hard for me to care about this couple – a pastor and his wife. Her unwillingness to stand up for what she knew to be right frustrated me so badly it was hard for me to continue reading sometimes. I think the only thing that kept me reading some of the time was the fact that I was getting up 2-3 times a night to feed Jack and needed something to do.

Overall, the story was pretty good. It was a long journey, and it ended well, which gives it most of its points, but if you have a ton of books to read, I wouldn’t start with this one.

The Still of Night, by Kristen Heitzmann

Though I didn’t realize it at the time I started reading it, The Still of Night is actually a sequel or sister-book to A Rush of Wings. I recommend reading that book first, if you intend to read this one.

I like Kristen Heitzmann’s style of writing. She develops her characters indirectly, dumping you into the story and letting you learn about them as the book goes. I enjoy reading books where the backstory comes out a bit at a time, like pieces to a puzzle.

I like the fact that in some scenes she’s writing from Jill’s view with all her feelings, questions, doubts and fears, and in others she’s writing from Morgan’s point of view. You get to see the two characters from both inside and out. It makes them easier to empathize with. You understand their motives a little better, yet also see the effects of their actions on other people.

I enjoy Kristen’s books because they give you a chance to experience each character’s struggle with God. Struggles such as whether to even believe in God in the first place, or as a believer, the battle of trying to understand how a loving God can allow terrible things to happen.

This book, to me, was more about the spiritual journeys of Jill and Morgan, than about the events in the book. Like life, it’s more about what you become as a result of the things that happen to you rather than about the events themselves.

The plot was essentially predictable, but that’s not necessarily all bad. If anyone knows me really well, they know that in our household we have a term for movies and books that have the predictable, happy, “closure filled” ending. It’s a “Lundie ending”. That’s how I know whether or not to watch a movie. I HATE watching a movie only to have an unexpected tragic ending. (Damn you “Message in a Bottle” and “City of Angels”!!!)

So, on a scale of 1 to 5, I give this book a 4.

(Note: For me, a “5″ is reserved for those books I want to read again and again.)