The holiday season is rapidly approaching. Many enjoy giving books to those on their gift list. This week’s books are well-written fictions with serious messages. It is my opinion that these are most suited to females from the age eighteen up.
Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson. The Potluck Club Takes the Cake. Revell. 2007.
This hilarious book tells the story of a group of six friends that share regular potluck meals together. They share their lives, catch up on gossip, and pray for each other. The authors’ writing style helps you feel like you know these friends in real life.
A unique feature in this book is that recipes are given for the many potluck meals the friends eat together. Many of the chapters have a name of a food as their title. The recipes appear as they would on the index cards found in so many recipe files (at least before the day of computers).
Each of the main characters (the six friends) is developed in-depth. You’ll learn much about their way of thinking, how they deal with problems and joys, and how they approach spiritual matters. Some of the characters (particularly the men involved) seem a bit superficial making their stories even more believable. After all, are all of your friends of the serious nature? The town’s people share their view of these friends too. You’ll be kept on the edge of your seat waiting to see if these friends can really pull off the wedding that ends the story.
Kathryn Cushman. A Promise to Remember. Bethany House. 2007.
A Promise to Remember is the story of two women separated by marital status and financial status that share the tragedy of their sons being killed in an automobile accident. This story, no doubt, has occurred many times each year for real parents and real teenagers. One mother is trying to fulfill a promise her son made to a charity organization by completing some paintings. The other mother and her husband decide to fund a scholarship in the memory of their son. This proves very painful to the other mother because that fund now bears the name of the boy causing the accident.
Cushman is outst6anding at weaving this story so that the end is kept a secret right up to the last chapter. You’ll learn how faith can help you over4come the worst barriers between people. People on opposite sides of the tragedy can learn to forgive each other for their reactions and for their sons’ involvement in the situation. It reminds me of how Christ so freely forgives us and commands that we forgive others as we have been forgiven by Him.
