Had I known what this book was about, I wouldn’t have bought it. But it was given to me by an author who was doing a book signing at Next Chapter Books & Art, our local indie book store in New Bern, NC. https://thenextchapternc.com/.
Though I am not a fan of organized religion, this book, written more or less as a parable, was quite compelling and nicely written. However, some parts of it could have used some clarification.
For instance, the main character, Grey, is an unhappy nineteen-year-old young woman having never gotten over her mother’s death. When we meet her, she’s waking up after drinking too much and sleeping with a young man. Or, at least we think it’s a young man. But later in the story, he appears to be at least in his late twenties.
Grey’s stepfather, with whom she does not get along, tells her about a job opening and strongly suggests she apply for it. She gets the job and begins to turn her life around. The reader, or at least this reader, got the impression that the owner of the coffee shop is in his forties, but a good person who believes in the lessons taught in the Beatitudes discussed in the Bible.
Fine, but then it turns out the man has fallen in love with Grey and wants to marry her. A bit creepy, in my view. Grey’s stepfather is encouraging her to marry the coffee shop owner. Plus, the young man Grey had been sleeping with turns out to be studying to be a pastor, even when he’s sleeping with her. But perhaps I was mistaken, and he was just letting her have a place to sleep when she didn’t want to speak to her stepfather. And, by the way, the stepfather turns out to be a good person.
Still, the story is well told and worth reading. Plus, the lessons told do give the reader pause. We all can learn from the teachings of others either by accepting what’s being taught or by deciding that the suggestions are a bunch of hooey.
In any case, books that make us think are definitely worth reading.
Biblio: 2024, ISBN; 978-1-7326373-2-0
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