Customer Reviews

Oceans Apart

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Conner and Michele Evans seem like the couple that have it all. Great home, loving daughters and their whole lives ahead of them. But Conner has something that he has been hiding from Michele. Seven years ago he had an affair that resulted in a child, Max. Now Max is alone in the world and he needs a family. But is the Evans family it?
This was the first book that I read by Karen Kingsbury and I really enjoyed it. Ms. Kingsbury gave real emotions to her characters. She also showed about faith and forgiveness and how it is important to ones life. Overall, I would be interested in reading more from Karen Kingsbury.

I have good news for readers who are Karen Kingsbury fans, and even better news for readers who are not: this is far and away the best novel I've read by this bestselling author of something like 30 books. It's a powerful story of forgiveness, reconciliation and grace, wrapped up in a genuine page-turner. And if you've never read Kingsbury before, this is the one to start with.

The promotional material from Zondervan, including the synopsis on the back cover, refers to the "perfect" life of airline captain Connor Evans and his wife, Michele, and their two daughters. Frankly, that word is an immediate turn-off for me; it implies shallow, stereotyped characters, an overdone scenario, and unimaginative writing. If I hadn't been assigned to read this book, I probably would have ignored it.

The Evanses may have a decent and privileged life, but it's not a perfect life, the kind populated with cardboard characters. These are real people who happen to have it pretty good until an airline crash in the Pacific shakes things up for them in Florida. That's when Connor discovers that an indiscretion years earlier resulted in more than a good time. He has a son, and he has a choice: forget about him and pretend the one-night stand with the boy's mother never happened, or come clean with his wife, meet his son, Max, for the first time, and make Max a part of their family, at least temporarily.

One of the elements that sets this book apart is the light hand the author uses throughout. She skillfully weaves in the faith message and allows the story to unfold naturally. It's not until late in the book that we learn the circumstances that led to Connor's unfaithfulness; it would have been so easy, and ultimately so unsatisfying to the reader, to place those scenes early on in the book in an effort to simply get them out of the way. Nothing about OCEANS APART feels "wrong"; even the Florida setting rings true, which isn't always the case in the hands of non-native writers.

The forgiveness theme in particular never feels forced or superficial. So much forgiveness is needed on so many levels, and Kingsbury lets the process that leads to forgiveness develop over time. Equally impressive is the way she handles the theme of "second chances," and not just with regard to the obvious second chance that Connor needs. All of this reflects a multilayered effort on the author's part, and one that she carries off well.

Readers who have found some of Kingsbury's plots to be implausible --- ONE TUESDAY MORNING and its sequel, BEYOND TUESDAY MORNING, come to mind --- should be pleasantly surprised with the achingly realistic story line in OCEANS APART. And the characters --- you just may find yourself loving Max and respecting each of the major characters, along with the decisions they end up making.

OCEANS APART won the ECPA Gold Medallion Award for fiction, which means it was selected as the best novel of 2004 by both retailers and a panel of independent judges. It's certainly the best, or among the best, from Kingsbury, and the accolades it has received should encourage her to maintain the higher standard she set for herself with this book.

Kingsbury makes you think about how you would react about life situations. After reading one of her books, you put your faith and beliefs in check. As with all of her books, I leave several tear soaked pages and pass them on to my daughters to read, who in turn pass them on to their friends, who pass them on to their mothers!! It's a great way to share God's love.

Karen Kingsbury continues her string of amazing writings with Oceans Apart. Once again, I couldn't put this book down, and my husband was amazed at how fast I read. Secrets can destroy anyone, and it almost happens here. God's grace and love are personified in Oceans Apart. Max is so innocent and wise, and everyone will learn from his trusting heart. Kiahna's plans for her son may tear apart a family, yet God intervened. Have that comfy chair and box of tissues once again as you read and appreciate the gift that God has given Karen Kingsbury.

This was the second book that I have read by Karen Kingsbury, and I gladly admit that she is the best writer when it comes to real life issues. My husband laughed when I cried endlessly while reading this (he hates reading ficiton), but little did he know how incredibly real it seemed. Somehow Kingsbury always creates such unending depth in her characters and their stories, that I can't but stand in awe of the gift God has given her for writing. What an incredible ministry. Thank you Karen Kingsbury.

I usually like Karen Kingsbury books but this was just too much. The characters were so unreal. The seven year old boy was perfect. Totally unlike a normal seven year old especially going through the loss of his mother.

The book was way too mushy for my taste. It was also too predictable. An affair in a marriage is devastating. Not something that can be fixed in a few weeks.

The other thing that really bothered me what the way she wrote when the boy was talking. I really didn't like the little kid talk she wrote in. Everything was "my mommy"... or some mispronounced word. It was kind of like reading Junie B Jones.

I did not like this book.

As the wife of an airline pilot, I was a little unsure if I wanted to read this book. Just like I don't care to read books about airplane crashes. But I began reading and couldn't stop. Although the pilot's affair isn't justified, you can see where the marriage had trouble.
The book reinforces the fact that a woman needs to pay attention to her husband. A woman who treats her husband with the respect she gave him while they were dating should never fear him wandering.
If I was the wife of the Connor, I would like to think I would have forgiven him. With God all things are possible.
This is a terrific book about marriage, forgiveness, and returning to God.

This book is about an airline pilot, Connor, who seems to have it all, but then a secret from the past comes back to confront
him. Connor and his wife, then struggle to put together their marriage, and has a very important decision to make.

Kingsbury is not afraid to deal with difficult issues. In this case, she writes about Connor's one-night stand and about the
son that results from that. The feelings that Michelle felt upon finding out came out so good in this book--the anger and
the hurt. The book deals a lot with forgiveness. Michelle ends up forgiving, but also, she puts a child's welfare ahead of
her own hurt feelings and makes a big sacrifice for her husband, which I really admire her for. And she falls in love with the boy, too. And Kingsbury does a great
job of promoting the idea that the marriage relationship is such a significant relationship.

I love Karen Kingsbury. She is one of my favorite authors. I hope to read more books by her.

This is one of Karen Kingsbury's best novels yet.From the crafting of the story to the blibical relevance to the twists and turns, this book had me captivated from the beginning to the end, made me cry and had me in deep introspection for days.I recommend this for everyone who wants to know about the God of love and how much God loves us and works EVERYTHING out for our good.Well done, Karen!

Once again Karen Kingsbury delivers a wonderful story of real life with heartache and joy. She gives you insight into the destruction of an affair and how easy it is to fall into one if you do not heed the Spirit's warning. Since I am an avid reader of Christian fiction, I can usually predict the ending and not get emotionally involved, but with this book I was guessing until the end and it made me cry THREE times...that has to be some record. I highly recommend this book as well as any of Karen Kingsbury's other books.