“If weakness is just a wound that no one
wants to speak of, then cool is just how far we have to fall.”
“I’m
Not Alright”, Sanctus Real
There is so much I could say about Jenny B Jones’ latest
book, there you’ll find me but I need to start with this. It is completely not what I expected and
completely and magnificently what I needed.
Finley, a young girl starting her senior year accepts a foreign
exchange program placement to Abbyglen, Ireland. The exact same country and town as her late
brother, Will had visitied during his senior year.
So Finley sets out, armed with bravado, wit and a journal marking every
location that Will ever set foot near during his time there. Only the journal he wrote speaks not just of
landmarks, cuisine and culture of this Irish treasure; it is riddled with his personal
and poignant journey with his Saviour.
How he met God in a very real sense during his time in Ireland. How Will saw, heard and felt the hand of God
as he walked through the beauty of a nation dressed in green. Aching inside, Finley hopes to recapture the same love her brother Will felt from Jesus, and let it seep into her doubts, fears
and gaping holes of loneliness.
I wasn’t prepared for many things about this new novel.
It is definitely a young adult novel which I may have missed in the preamble. Not that I have anything against teen novels, but it took me a while to get into the book. To revert back into my own teen-angst days – something I never wanted to relive. By page 75 however, I was hooked. It was only a matter of hours from that point before I teary-eyed finished the book with a deep, satisfying sigh.
It is definitely a young adult novel which I may have missed in the preamble. Not that I have anything against teen novels, but it took me a while to get into the book. To revert back into my own teen-angst days – something I never wanted to relive. By page 75 however, I was hooked. It was only a matter of hours from that point before I teary-eyed finished the book with a deep, satisfying sigh.
Finley experiences what I call the ‘no matter where you go I will
find you’ side of a loving Saviour. This
is the side of our Lord that we often don’t discover until we reach a hole that
feels so desperately lonely and vacant.
I guess that is where Jenny B Jones gets her title from.
Finley thought she had to travel around the
world to Ireland to find God. Although
God allowed the experiences in Abbeyglen to teach Finley and grow her, she
discovers that she had all she needed with her all along. But our paths are never wasted by the
Almighty. Especially if that path we choose
leads us into the arms of a powerful love.
Enter Beckett Rush, a priceless commodity in his own right. He is the latest teen movie sensation. An actor.
A heartthrob. A vampire? Well, that is the role he seems made to play on
screen anyway. However there is more
than a drop-dead gorgeous smile and a few sharp, white teeth to this
guy. He is far more than he lets on and
far less than he appears. He is a
perfect paradox to reach inside Finley’s shaky self-confidence and teach her
that some things just don’t make sense in our lives. And that is okay.
Then add a cast of vibrant and eccentric secondary characters and
you have yourself a fun, entertaining, enlightening and invigorating
story. Read it even if vampires, teenage
power princesses and the horribly-hoped-to-never-relive memories of a
girl-ask-guy dance aren’t the typical storyline for you. You won’t regret it. Jenny B Jones can reach in and pull your
heart out from its hiding place and make you too, want to stand looking over a
vast green field filled with hope for what is to come. If we just lean on God and trust what we know of Him instead of what we feel about ourselves.
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life,” or any other
life experience or drama we seem to accumulate “will be able to separate us
from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Don't miss out on this one.
If I had to add a soundtrack to this story it would be "I'll Be" by Newsboys.
Check back tomorrow for a devotional based on the book that God led me through today.
I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
No comments:
Post a Comment