Book Review: Eve's Daughters

I just completed this historical fiction novel by a new favorite Christian author.

Yes, me.

Reading Christian fiction TWICE this month!!

This author is EXCELLENT! AND our towne library has almost all of her books!!

Now, if you know me at all, you know I am not usually a huge fan of Christian fiction. I find it to be sappy....and usually just not all that GOOD!  I love to read all kinds of genres but particularly I enjoy mysteries, suspence, some fantasy (depending on the theme), SOME science fiction (but not much) and historical fiction or biographies.  I also usually enjoy most Christian NON-fiction. Favorite authors are Max Lucado, Gary Chapman, Tim Kimmel, Gary Thomas,  Philip Yancey and Billy Graham. And those are just the men! LOL

Seriously, this novel I just finished last night, was excellent. And you know it is if I'm promoting Christian FICTION! 

STORY SUMMARY

It's a family saga of secret choices and second chances.

It begins in 1980 as a prologue with Susanne (a mom of 2 daughters who is in a struggling marriage) and her mother, Grace (who is a typical suburban stay-at-home woman who used to be a nurse in her early days).  Both are helping Grace's mom (Susanne's grandmother, Emma) move into a retirement center as she is in her early 80's.

The book is then divided into "parts". Each woman in the family saga has her own story.  It actually begins in Germany with Louise (Emma's mother) and Friedrich (Louise's husband).  They are born and raised in Germany and due to Friedrich's religious beliefs, they escape from Germany to flee to America before World War 1 erupts.  Once in America, they make their home in Pennsylvania and begin their family.  They have daughters:  Sophia, Emma, Eva, and Vera.  

The book then jumps back to 1980 where you learn a little more about Grace and Susanne.

There is a section about Emma, Grace, and Susanne and the beginning of their lives.

This story centers around the various generations and belief systems society and the church placed on men and women. WHY doesn't Emma get married??

Does Grace ever find her real father?

Will Susanne's marriage fall apart or does she learn the secret to keeping her marriage alive?

And how does a Catholic priest enter into the picture of all these Protestant families?

and why in the world is the book title "Eve's Daughters" when there is NO EVE in the family????

Read it to learn.

MY THOUGHTS

I don't want to give you too much of the story summary because I don't want to ruin the book for you! This book teaches about violence and abuse and how this happens even in Christian homes.  It teaches about betrayal, bad choices and the consequences of sin.  It also teaches, in a HUGE way, about grace, forgiveness, and acceptance of various choices/beliefs.

I love how the salvation message is sprinkled throughout this book, without being "preachy" or too "Christian-ese" for a non-believing reader.  In other words, I can recommend this book to my non-Christian friends, knowing that they will read about how to know Christ in a personal way, without feeling like they are being preached to.

The author has done a beautiful job depicting life in the early part of the century all the way up through the turbulent 1960's and the "give me give me now" mentality of the early 1980's.

She has also done a most excellent job of pointing the reader to an everlasting Father who loves us unconditionally and accepts us for who we are!

I highly recommend this book for anyone over the age of 16 (due to the content of some sections).

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 10!

are you reading any good books over the Christmas vacation??