The book, which is the debut novel by this author, describes events taking place in a small Michigan town. Here, the congregation is faced with a tragedy. The cross in front of the small church was struck by lightening, broke into two pieces and now needs to be replaced - but the community has no funds.
Faced with this problem, the characters of the book realize that life will be bumpy and religion will never shelter us from these unhappy and dark episodes. But believing in a higher power will provide us with strength to get through life and not despair. And obstacles are many in this book. The minister is blind and now faced with the task of restoring the cross. A single mom finds out that her little boy has cancer and wonders whether she will lose him. And a young physician wonders whether she can treat the little boy with medicine or whether her capabilities and medicine will fail him.
But first things first - the cross needs to be repaired and here comes Kenneth, the carpenter, or his more than that? The book is filled with interesting characters, such as Kenneth and Alex, the little sick boy, but the author also manages to fill this book with imagery that encourage the reader to dig deeper. Underneath the surface of that storyline involving the repair of the cross and how the people of the community interact is the Christian mission to spread the belief.
The ending is unusual to say the least and may not be to everyone's liking. I enjoyed the book for the most part, but the ending left me wishing for a stronger and more cohesive finale. As is, the ending seems like an afterthought; with the author having spent a lot of energy developing the characters throughout the book, only to fall somewhat short in the end.
Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this book through booksneeze. The opinions expressed in this blog are my own and have not been influenced by booksneeze or any other third party.
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