Interrupted by Rachel Coker: A Book Review

Note: I was not interrupted by Rachel Coker, the book she wrote is titled Interrupted. ;)
Just teasing!

Description:

Can love really heal all things? If Sam Carroll hadn’t shown up, she might have been able to get to her mother in time. Instead, Allie Everly finds herself at a funeral, mourning the loss of her beloved mother. She is dealt another blow when, a few hours later, she is sent from Tennessee to Maine to become the daughter of Miss Beatrice Lovell, a prim woman with a faith Allie cannot accept. Poetry and letters written to her mother become the only things keeping Allie’s heart from hardening completely. But then Sam arrives for the summer, and with him comes many confusing emotions, both toward him and the people around her. As World War II looms, Allie will be forced to decide whether hanging on to the past is worth losing her chance to be loved.

About Rachel Coker:
I am a sixteen year old homeschool student from way-out-of-the-way Virginia. When I was younger, I loved to read so much that the taking away of library privileges was a go-to punishment for my parents. Especially since I loved the library so much that I once concocted an entire plan to run away and live there among the books….

When I was in sixth grade, I wrote my first fiction short story for a school assignment and things pretty much rocketed from there. My mom signed me up for writing lessons for about a year, and I completed my first full length YA novel when I was fourteen. It is scheduled to come out with Zondervan in 2012.

I came to Christ when I was in my early teens, and am eager to discuss reformed theology with anyone who comes my way! Albeit, I am a bit of an arguer, but I try to keep a cheerful spirit! I love my Savior and enjoy learning more about Him and sharing what I have learned with others.

Rachel blogs here: http://rachelcoker.wordpress.com/


My Thoughts:

What I liked....

First of all, I was quite impressed that this book had been written by a fourteen-year old teen girl. :) The writing flowed nicely and drew the reader along without any pauses or boring lapses in the storyline. I thought the characters were interesting and likeable, (although I didn't really like the MC until near the end of the book) and seemed like they could have been real people. I particularly liked Charlie (However, I wish she had stuck with Charlotte instead of the nickname) ;) and Russell Wilkinson and his mother Debra. And Irene, Allie's new adopted "older sister".

I enjoyed the time period, although I think a little more description could have been added about clothes, cars, etc. that would have made it seem a little more like the WW2 era.

I liked the sayings Beatrice said throughout the book! (i.e. "I've always said that a girl who does chores has a future that soars.") I found them very amusing.

The description in the book is wonderful. You feel like you're really there, along with Alcyone, as she experiences the story. I loved Beatrice's house, especially. And the beach descriptions. (But then, I'm biased, being a beach girl myself and having grown up in Florida).

Overall opinion: I enjoyed the book!

What I didn't like...

- The bitterness. I found the beginning of the book depressing. The mental struggles her mother went through were sad... and I'm not sure if a brain tumor/cancer growth would have caused that? I don't know much about that type of illness though.

- The rejection. It seemed to me like Allie was mean to Sam for absolutely no reason, after he was so sweet to her. It made me really dislike her right up front. She was downright surly. I'm glad she finally straightened out in the end... but I won't say any more, for fear of spoiling it! ;)

- The holding-on. Alcyone was very distrustful of her new 'mother' and guardian because she was a Christian and Allie was told to distrust Christians by her mother, because her father had supposedly been one, and deserted them. Okay. I can understand that, although I think Alcyone would probably have formed her own opinion, not adopted her mother's opinion. What I didn't like was that there seemed to be no warming-up or transitioning on Allie's part whatsoever towards Beatrice (her adoptive mother) for an exceedingly long time. Maybe I was being impatient as I read the story. :D

But I would recommend this book, and I am looking forward to more stories from Rachel Coker. I hope she continues to write! :)
Blessings,


(I received an advance copy of Interrupted by Rachel Coker in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to write a favorable review.)