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The Secret Keepers Of The Old Grocery Depot by Amanda Cox

Nov4

Delightful

The Secret Keepers Of The Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox is the most delightful Christian dual timeline novel that filled my soul with love.

The novel is set in present day and from 1965 working forwards. It is a story of family and love and life.

A character has been grieving her whole life for a boy who went to Vietnam and never returned. Life still kept turning and she had to learn to live again in spite of her grief. Grief never leaves us. We just need to find our way through it.

We witness the horrors of war in the lives of those who return. “How could they find normal after that? Love when they’d been baptized in hate.” Some lives buckle with PTSD and they escape through alcohol and drugs.

There is the theme of guilt. A character is drowning in it, carrying burdens that were never meant for her. “I’d become so tainted by darkness that I couldn’t feel the warmth of the sun anymore.”  It is time to let go and let God.

Sometimes we revisit the past and that is fine but we must not dwell in it. “What-ifs won’t get us anywhere… We can’t change the past. But we can choose a new tomorrow.”

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A Token Of Love by Carrie Turansky

Oct31

Holding On To Hope

A Token Of Love by Carrie Turansky is a delightful Christian dual timeline novel that drew me in from the start. I had a dilemma – read on and find out what happens or savor each page. I chose to savor each page. I never wanted this book to end.

The novel has the Foundling Hospital in London at its’ centre. It is set in 1885 and present day. It concerns the topic of human trafficking which is not a modern problem as it happened in Victorian times too. Action alternates between both time periods as one particular young girls’ story unites the periods.

Within the story, there are parallel themes as we witness the evil of men towards young girls. There is a love interest too. And over it all, is the love of God.

We witness the power of prayer. “In a time of crisis, people often reached out to those who believed in prayer.” Prayer taps into the love of God as He works in the situations where we feel most powerless. “We need to do our part and trust Him with the outcome.” God can be trusted with our lives. Sometimes all we can do is pray. At other times action is required. When we get to the end of ourselves, we find that God meets us there.

Everyone faces losses. Losses are dealt with differently by everyone. The Lord sustains us when we feel overwhelmed. “I don’t know how people can go through losses… without faith to sustain them.” Jesus lifts us up when we are in pain and hurting. He will always hear our prayers and heal our hearts.

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The Twins On The Train by Suzanne Goldring

Oct31

The Mark Of True Love

The Twins On The Train by Suzanne Goldring is a powerful historical novel that totally consumed me. I could not put it down.

The novel begins in 2023 before moving backwards to Berlin in 1933 and into World War II. The action alternates between a mother in Berlin and a British lady whose mission was to rescue as many Jewish children from Berlin, on the Kindertransport, as she could.

The reader witnesses the gradual erosion of the freedom of the Jewish people and the sheer terror of Kristallnacht in November 1938. We see the bravery of the parents who loved their children enough to let them go. “They have the courage to send away the things most precious of all to them, more than gems and gold can ever be.” As a mother, I do not think I would have had their courage.

Life is shown through the eyes of the children through their speech. “You’re the first Aryan who’s been nice to me in a long time. Will there be more people like you in England?” Heartbreaking. How awful that Jewish children, a precious gift, have been treated so abominably.

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The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up by Laura Pearson

Oct25

Beautiful

The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up by Laura Pearson is a most beautiful contemporary novel that I really enjoyed.

The novel is written in two time periods – ‘then’ and ‘now.’ It is in the first person of Shelley Woodhouse. The reader gets to know her intimately from the age of six. We see how she functions. She is a very likable and believable main character.

There is an ethereal beauty to the novel despite the difficult theme of domestic abuse. Laura Pearson presents it with sensitivity. We see some of the abuse through the eyes of a child. “I sat in my bedroom wondering whether my mother might be dead.” There are some heart-breaking themes as well as some beautiful ones as we see Shelley Woodhouse being loved and protected by her grandmother.

Our upbringing shapes us. “Dad left and I don’t want to risk anyone else deciding to go.” Shelley Woodhouse aged six, has decided that she must be a ‘good girl’ so no one else ever leaves her. It is a motto she lives by.

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