MY THOUGHTS:
This is a fabulous and difficult book at the same time. It deals with several difficult concepts -- abduction, abuse, illness, and teenage hormones -- in a heart-rending way. Mary DeMuth has climbed inside the head of a teenage boy from a very dysfunctional family in a way that let's the reader really understand his personal pain.
The cast of characters is amazing. Each is multi-dimensional and Mary lays them open to reveal their strengths, weaknesses, pains, and joys. She takes us beyond first impressions and preconceived notions so we can understand their true spirits and see how they have been impacted by life's trials. There are no stereotypical representations; Mary helps us see that each person has a story.
This is a story that will stick with you. The writing is magnificent. Mary's words take on the melody of life, and they are compiled in such a way that I often went back to reread a sentence because it felt so good rolling around in my brain! The story line allows each of us to resonate with the emotions and reactions of characters even if we have not been in similar situations.
I believe this book will be an award winner -- it's a must read. I honestly care about what happens to each person in future books. It's a shame that it takes so much longer to write a book than it does to read one!
Buy a copy HERE.
The book is full of secrets that each person holds -- some choose to let go and be free, others hold on desperately with fear of repercussion. Each of us has secrets that threaten to blow apart our comfortable lives. Mary has created a safe place to release them at her website, My Family Secrets. Check it out and feel free to leave your secrets anonymously.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mary E. DeMuth is an expert in Pioneer Parenting. She enables Christian parents to navigate our changing culture when their families left no good faith examples to follow.
Her parenting books include Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture (Harvest House, 2007), Building the Christian Family You Never Had (WaterBrook, 2006), and Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God (Harvest House, 2005).
Mary also inspires people to face their trials through her real-to-life novels, Watching The Tree Limbs
(nominated for a Christy Award) and Wishing On Dandelions (NavPress, 2006).
Mary has spoken at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, the ACFW Conference, the Colorado Christian Writers Conference, and at various churches and church planting ministries. Mary and her husband, Patrick, reside in Texas with their three children. They recently returned from breaking new spiritual ground in Southern France, and planting a church.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The abrupt disappearance of young Daisy Chance from a small Texas town in 1973 spins three lives out of control—Jed, whose guilt over not protecting his friend Daisy strangles him; Emory Chance, who blames her own choices for her daughter’s demise; and Ouisie Pepper, who is plagued by headaches while pierced by the shattered pieces of a family in crisis.
In this first book in the Defiance, Texas Trilogy, fourteen-year-old Jed Pepper has a sickening secret: He’s convinced it’s his fault his best friend Daisy went missing. Jed’s pain sends him on a quest for answers to mysteries woven through the fabric of his own life and the lives of the families of Defiance, Texas. When he finally confronts the terrible truths he’s been denying all his life, Jed must choose between rebellion and love, anger and freedom.
Daisy Chain is an achingly beautiful southern coming-of-age story crafted by a bright new literary talent. It offers a haunting yet hopeful backdrop for human depravity and beauty, for terrible secrets and God’s surprising redemption.
If you would like to read the first chapter of Daisy Chain, go HERE
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1 comment:
Thank you so much for reading the book and writing your review. I'm thankful you enjoyed it.
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