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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Reminder of God's Grace, September 14, 2002
By A Customer
Halfway To Forever is another of Karen Kingsbury's beautifully-written stories of faith and love. In this emotion-packed novel, Kingsbury takes the leading characters from two of her former books and weaves a beautiful saga of faith under trial. Hannah and Matt Bronzan (from `Waiting For Morning') and Tanner and Jade Eastman (from `A Moment of Weakness') are good friends who attend the same church. Tanner and Matt are high-powered Christian lawyers who run a prestigious law firm specializing in religious freedom cases. Both men are happily married with successful careers and loving families. The two couples have struggled with their own issues from the past but now they are entering a new chapter of their lives. Hannah has come to the place where she feels it is time to move on after the loss of her former husband and young daughter. She and Matt decide to adopt a little four-year-old girl, trusting the Lord for the adoption to go through without any hitches and to bring healing to their hearts. Tanner and Jade, after almost giving up hope of having another child, discover they are to be parents. They trust God for a safe pregnancy and a healthy child. However both families soon find their faith under trial. Matt and Hannah encounter problems with the adoption and Jade develops a cancerous brain tumor that threatens her own life as well as the life of her baby. Troubles snowball and each character must individually face their worst fears as they struggle to overcome their doubts in the goodness and sovereignty of God. This book addresses the question: "Why do bad things happen to good people?" It also deals with the subject of loss and the death of loved ones. I found the author's answers satisfying and realistic, and she brought her message across without resorting to preachy sermonizing or sentimentality. Kingsbury dealt with the subject of past sin in a manner that never justified its serious consequences, showing how anger can rob us of joy and peace and how fear can immobilize and cripple us in relating to others. However she also revealed how God's grace can heal and deliver and bring good out of evil in the lives of His children. The story ended on a note of victory and I truly enjoyed this reading experience. I felt the author exercised sensitivity and wisdom in handling her subject matter and developed her characters with empathetic realism. I found I could relate to many of the issues and situations she wrote about and I was especially grateful for the way in which she pointed to God's unfailing grace and love despite our problems and imperfections. I've always enjoyed books by Kingsbury and I wasn't disappointed in this one. I hear she is writing a new series with Gary Smalley. Should be good. This is a really good book for anyone struggling in their faith after the loss of a loved one or after a major disappointment in life; also for the person who needs a reminder of God's faithful love and powerful deliverance in the midst of confusing and oppressive circumstances.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Halfway to Forever, April 24, 2002
I have read In A Moment of Weakness, Waiting For Morning and then placed an order for Halfway to Forever before it was released. Karen Kingsbury saved the best of this series of books for last. She stated that we were saying goodbye to Tanner and Jade, Matt and Hannah in Halfway to Forever. I don't believe I have ever enjoyed a series of books any more than I did these. Superb in every way. Karen Kingsbury is one of the best writers of this time.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Tear Jerker!!, June 3, 2002
I loved this book. This book was about how one couple, Jade and Tanner, dealt with Jade's pregnancy and brain cancer, and about another couple, Hannah and Matt, who were trying to adopt a little girl. This book was a sequel to 2 other books. I liked how this book integrated the events from the other books into this book. This was an emotion-packed book, with Tanner struggling over the possibility of losing his true love Jade, and with little Grace, who Matt and Hannah tried to adopt, but lost her. I was moved to tears at their loss and at how Grace went through so much with her mother. I was moved to tears when Hannah and Matt got to adopt Kody. This was a fine Christian book that dealt with Biblical principals with getting preachy. Kingsbury has a knack for doing that in her books. This book discussed Jade's struggles with whether she committed adultery by remarrying after divorcing (and if God was punishing her by giving her brain cancer), and with anger & bearing grudges, like with Hannah after her loss of Grace. These issues were resolved in a very sensitive manner. And then there was the struggle that Tanner had in why bad things happen to good people. I think we can all relate to these struggles. It is good to have characters who are Christians, yet, are flawed. It makes it so much easier to relate to these characters, to know that God loves us, despite are problems and imperfections. I look forward to reading more from Kingsbury. I can't wait for her series with Gary Smalley.
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