White Picket Fences

                                                         Book: White Picket Fences

Author: Susan Meissner

Summary:

Amanda Janvier’s idyllic home seems the perfect place for her niece Tally to stay while her vagabond brother is in Europe, but the white picket fence life Amanda wants to provide is a mere illusion. Amanda’s husband Neil refuses to admit their teenage son Chase, is haunted by the horrific fire he survived when he was four, and their marriage is crumbling while each looks the other way.

Tally and Chase bond as they interview two Holocaust survivors for a sociology project, and become startlingly aware that the whole family is grappling with hidden secrets, with the echoes of the past, and with the realization that ignoring tragic situations won’t make them go away.

Readers of emotional dramas that are willing to explore the lies that families tell each other for protection and comfort will love White Picket Fences. The novel is ideal for those who appreciate exploring questions like: what type of honesty do children need from their parents, or how can one move beyond a past that isn’t acknowledged or understood? Is there hope and forgiveness for the tragedies of our past and a way to abundant grace?

Author Bio:

Susan Meissner cannot remember a time when she wasn’t driven to put her thoughts down on paper. Her novel The Shape of Mercy was a Publishers Weekly pick for best religious fiction of 2008 and a Christian Book Award finalist. Susan and her husband live in Southern California , where he is a pastor and a chaplain in the Air Force Reserves. They are the parents of four grown children.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This book was a little hard for me to get into.  The beginning seems like a slow start.  However, once I got past Chapter 7 I was hooked and couldn't put it down.  I enjoy reading books like this one - a lot of suspense which keeps me interested.  I have not yet finished reading the book but should be done with it shortly.  This book has a lot of unexpected turns in it...just about the time you think you know what will happen something else happens. Upon recieving the book and reading the title, "White Picket Fences," the first thing that popped into my head after reading that title was "that wasn't"...for some reason I thought this book would be about a family who wanted the white picket facade but it wasn't what they were truly about.  I have enjoyed it and would definately recommend it as a Christian alternative to some other titles that I have read.

To purchase this book please click on the photo of the book.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.