Christy,
of the multi-volume Christy Miller series, and Todd have been to
college and have now been married for two years. Todd is a youth pastor
and Christy works part time at a bookstore. They are a young couple
in love. (This book picks up the series where the latest Katie Weldon
book ended.)
Then
their life trajectory takes a turn. The senior pastor of the
church retires and controversy arises over Todd remaining in his
position. When a church split seems to be in the future, Todd
resigns. A short time later Christy receives discouraging news about
her job. Suddenly their future looks very unsure.
This
novel is a good study of a new marriage under pressure. We witness
misunderstandings as the young couple experiences the difficulty of
communicating under pressure. We also see the pressure a couple
experiences when one has a dream the other does not share. Todd still
wants to be a missionary in Papa New Guinea when that is the farthest
thing from Christy's mind.
It
was great to see how the couple relied on their Christian faith,
bathing their decisions in prayer. It was fun to experience their
quirky and opinionated Aunt Marti. It was good to see the couple
reconnect with their friends (from earlier novels). It was
interesting to read about the “meltdown” each character
experienced. Like every marriage, they have their tender moments and
and their difficult ones.
This
latest novel by Gunn, and the first in the new series of Todd and
Christy's married years, is a good study in marriage for young
adults. It is not a difficult nor complex novel. It is entirely
suitable for older teen readers, giving them a good look at a
Christian marriage relationship under pressure.
Robin
Jones Gunn is the author of over 85 books with more than five million
copies sold. Her novels include the Christy Miller, Sierra Jensen,
and Katie Weldon series for teens. Her Glenbooke series and
Sisterchicks novels are for midlife readers. She has also written a
few stand alone novels. She and her husband have two grown children
and live in Hawaii. Find out more at www.robingunn.com.
Robin's
Nest Productions, Inc., 272 pages. It is available at
www.shop.robingunn.com.
I
received a complimentary copy of this book through The Book Club
Network for the purpose of an independent and honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment