Customer Reviews

A Family for Luke

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Being a single mother, I long to give my son a father. I pray for it everyday, and this book gave me hope...

The story of Janie was touching. She'd been a rebellious teenager and it got her into some trouble. And now she didn't want help from anyone. Her teenage daughter was so like her. The independence Janie held onto was affecting her daughter, Suzie. There is one place in the book that I especially liked. When Luke stepped in and offered a punishment when he realized her mother wasn't going to do it. He laid it all on the line. Janie's unhealthy guilt had caused some of Janie's problems, and from things Luke said later in the book I've a feeling that Luke worked hard at correcting those mistakes by using a firm hand on the teenage girl.

Being a single parent is hard. Personally, I feel bad that my son doesn't have a father, and I may be a little more laxed than I should be at times. It's hard trying to be both a mother and a father. I can totally see why Janie wanted to take her daughter in her arms and just be thankful that she's okay - that's called nurturing. But I also see why Luke did what he did - someone had to be the disciplinary in this situation; and though it wasn't really Luke's place I think he was right in stepping in.

I must admit that Janie did tend to get on my nerves. I think it was mean her trying to pay Luke for replacing the flowers when it was his responsibility to do so. I think it was mentioned in this book, and an old church member used to say it all the time: Don't take away the blessing.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than its sequel, Close to Home. There was one particular scene that I still go back and read because it was so sweet.

The victim of a bad upbringing, Luke has always wanted a family he could rely on. His mother was often absent from his life, and before CPS finally removed him from her care, he ended up feeling rejected and abandoned more often than not. His foster father was loving and caring and introduced him to the concepts of love, acceptance, forgiveness and a real family. His foster father's death a few years ago left Luke feeling abandoned and rejected all over again and so he leaves the church and immerses himself in work, that is until he meets with widow Janie and her three children. Janie has problems of her own in her life. She is struggling to be the superwoman that does everything: mother, small business owner, home maker and, most importantly, financially independent in the wake of her husband's massive debts. He sees in her a realization of all his dreams of a perfect family come true when he needs it most, she sees in him a distraction and an upset to her already chaotic and far from perfect life at a time when she needs it least. What follows is a novel about forgiveness, family, and faith.

This is a very strongly Christian novel. There are strong themes about what to do with, and how to approach, a life with God. There are prayers and bible verses quoted throughout and several discussions by the main characters about faith, church, and God. All of the events in the book are viewed through this lense and some of the topics are a little controversial, especially for a christian novel, though the wording was always very discrete. The topics covered, in no particular order, included child abuse and neglect, pre-marital sex, children out of wedlock, divorce, teen pregnancy, abortion, foster care and adoption, alcoholism, underage drinking, drug abuse, gambling, spousal abuse, and domestic violence.

There were times though when the mother and daughter both nearly drove me up a wall. Mostly for the same reasons. They were both obstinate and head strong and they both desperately wanted independence, at the expense of any familial relationships they might have otherwise engendered to their betterment. In the end though the character was very realistically portrayed as too overworked to think about what she was doing and I appreciated that realism about her. I could see how harmful being a "superwoman" was first hand in this book.

I ended up giving this novel only three stars, first off, because there were several very glaring errors that an editor really should have caught. I normally forgive the first three, but everyone I see after that just detracts that much more from my reading of it and there were at least half a dozen if not more. Second, it is standard romance, so the plot line followed a very standard formula that I was very familiar with. Finally, there is being stubborn and then there is being down right obstinate and I believe the heroine in this novel pretty solidly fell into the second category. Yes, pay people back when they do some yard work for you, but if they break something on your property and replace it don't offer to pay for it to "assuage your pride", at that point you're just being pigheaded.

So, fans of romantic Christian fiction interested in a couple that seriously test their faith and rely heavily on prayer, bible passages and heart felt, faith filled discussions to see them through will enjoy this book, at least to a degree. Be prepared for the very real, if tastefully worded, depictions of the above listed controversial topics. You will find all that and more in this book that comes right down to, at the very heart of it, forgiveness.