I’ve read two books by friends in the past three weeks, to review one and do a bit of editing on the other.

It’s such a privilege to read books friends have written. I learn more about each writer’s heart, challenges, and interests. I powered through both of these, knowing there were deadlines at the other end. Each very different from the other; each a treasure.

Available now on amazon.com, this novel, by a friend I learned to know and appreciate in a writing group with Ethel Herr, held my attention from beginning to end. Baker knows her Central Coast geography and as I read, I could picture the locations for many of this page-turner’s scenes. While Bonnie is in the grocery store, she turns to see her daughter Fallon smiling at her. But Bonnie’s best friend’s daughter, who was sitting in the grocery cart with Fallon, is nowhere to be seen! Disappeared without a trace. Guilt overwhelms, a friendship is destroyed, and Bonnie becomes a hyper-vigilant helicopter mom to Fallon, until threats begin again in the ‘safe place’ she has built around her daughter. Can safety be guaranteed anywhere? Will they find Fallon before it’s too late? Can old wounds be healed, friendships restored? Interweaving plots and strong character development will keep you reading. I loved this book. https://www.amazon.com/Rogue-Wave-Bo…/…/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1…

Haley House, by MarJean S. Peters

MarJean and I became close in college, sharing our lives, singing together, and watching each other’s romances develop – or not. I was in her wedding. We were somewhat out of touch when I married about fourteen years later so she was not in mine.

My friend had a beautiful soprano voice, thick, dark brown hair, sparkling brown eyes and a warm, winsome smile. An artist, Jeannie has an eye for beauty. We’ve reconnected in the past few years and five college girlfriends have even shared a few reunions since. Jeannie’s hair, still thick and lustrous, is now white. She is still absolutely lovely.

Jeannie and her husband have raised four gifted, committed Christian children who are in different walks of life and service. She and Conrad have been pastors and missionaries. At one point, they lived bel
ow the poverty line and moved into Haley House, a moldy, rat-infested shack.

Her book is the story of that house, told from the point of view of a 12-year old son. I was touched as I thought of my lovely friend who enjoys beauty and creativity living in horrible surroundings for several years. And yet, I saw also the grace of God as MarJean found the good in their circumstances. Even as she brought in added income by cleaning houses for wealthy women, Jeannie recognized that having money or grand homes did not bring happiness or prevent marriages from breaking up. She was able to remind her family that in that tiny house they had to communicate, they had to work things through–and they were CLOSE (in more ways than one).

I chuckled when I read about one of the children complaining that his eggs were getting covered in pancake syrup because the floor sloped. My dear friend told her kids to turn their plates so the eggs would be on the upside of the slope, and the syrup would stay off the eggs! Understanding some of the valleys God took MarJean and Conrad through, seeing her faith amid confusion and questions and tears and hardship, challenged me in my own faith. 

Haley House will be available this week on amazon.com.

What have you read recently that you enjoyed, that challenged you, or that opened your eyes to someone else’s life, struggles and victories?