Thursday, December 11, 2014

Forever With You by Robin Jones Gunn

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.

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