Home Another Way

Mia was up at 6:30 this morning even though there is no school today. She's so excited about trick-or-treating today. Jesse helped her carve her huge pumpkin last night, and even let her design the face. Tonight we'll head into Oconto Falls for trick-or-treating hours there, then we'll head out into the country where hours tend to run a little later so Mia can show off her costume to friends and family. Molly and her boyfriend Jesse are coming along. He's dressing up as a geek so she is going as a geek's dream girl. Mia is a princess, and there are twinkly lights on the skirt of her gown that she can turn on with a button. It was love at first sight!

I remember trick-or-treating as a kid in the country. We'd pack as many kids in the car as possible (no worries about car seats) and then only go to houses we knew, but it was the country, so we knew everyone. I didn't actually stop going until I was 15. That last year, I went with my best friend Jenny. Her father worked at a pickle factory, so he brought home huge barrels and attached straps to the top. Jenny and I wore our swimsuits underneath and froze nearly to death in the 40 degree temperatures. I can't imagine what people thought of two teenage girls wearing barrels and floppy hats and giggling hysterically. We didn't get much candy, but I did manage to get a nasty case of food poisoning!

I ran this review a couple of weeks ago, but Christa was sweet to offer to give away a copy of her book on the blog. So I'm rerunning my review (and it's a book good enough to deserve it!). Congratulations to Marge Clark who won the autographed copy!

Home Another Way by Christa Parrish is part of an emerging trend in Christian fiction in creating characters who couldn't be farther from faith in God and then bringing them gradually to find the Lord, and at the end of the book while they haven't had a Hallelujah, Praise the Lord! moment, they are much closer to God than at the beginning. Sarah Graham's father's will stipulates that Sarah live in his home for six months up in the wilds of rural New York in order to claim her inheritance. She at first balks at this restriction, but soon gives in when she has nowhere else to go. Sarah is forced to become part of the community that came to embrace her father, who had served 17 years in prison for murdering her mother, leaving her without either parent and in the care of a legalistic, cold grandmother. Sarah is angry at her father, the world, and God; not necessarily in that order. She rebels by flaunting her body and drinking too much. This is not your standard Christian fiction character. But Parrish pulls away Sarah's layers one by one exposing her as a deeply wounded woman wanting nothing more than to be loved for who she is. This short novel packs a lot of punch with interesting characters, moving drama, and evolving faith.

Have a Happy Halloween! And if you see my little princess, make sure you throw in a extra piece of candy for me!