Reclaiming Lily [Paperback]

Patti Lacy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2011

Riveting Race against the Clock to Save a Young Woman's Life

A storm the size of Texas brews when Gloria Powell and Kai Chang meet in a Dallas hotel. They have come to discuss the future of Lily, the daughter Gloria adopted from China and the sister Kai hopes to reclaim. Kai is a doctor who had to give up her little sister during the Cultural Revolution and has since discovered that an inherited genetic defect may be waiting to fatally strike Lily.

Gloria's relationship with her daughter is tattered and strained, and the arrival of Kai, despite the woman's apparent good intentions, makes Gloria fearful. Gloria longs to restore her relationship with Lily, but in the wake of this potentially devastating diagnosis, is Kai an answer to prayer...or will her arrival force Gloria to sacrifice more than she ever imagined?

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

A Mother's Love. A Sister's Promise.
Will Two Women Find the Path to Save a Young Woman's Life?

When an insidious genetic disease strikes her family, Harvard graduate Dr. Kai Chang must alert Lily, the sister Kai left on orphanage steps years earlier. Standing in her way are the Powells, Lily's adoptive parents. Gloria Powell, a shy pastor's wife, distrusts Kai and thinks her presence will send their troubled seventeen-year-old over the precipice of teenaged angst. A Texas-sized tornado whirls when Kai summons the Powells to a Fort Worth hotel. Tempers and cultures collide. Can Kai and Gloria, separated by culture and faith but devoted to Lily, reconcile their differences and trust their dreams to God?

About the Author

Patti Lacy graduated from Baylor University with a BS in education and completed master's-level courses in English at Indiana State University. She taught at Heartland Community College until May 2006 when she resigned to pursue her passion of writing. The author of three previous novels, Patti is the mother of two grown children and lives with her husband in Normal, Illinois.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (October 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764209418
• ISBN-13: 978-0764209413
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #946,977 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

In 2005, Patti traded in her grade books for a writer's pen to tell the long-buried story of her best friend. "An Irishwoman's Tale," "What the Bayou Saw," and "The Rhythm of Secrets" explore the secrets women keep and why they keep them. Patti's fourth book, "Reclaiming Lily," from Bethany House, transports readers to a Chinese orphanage, where two cultures and two women collide. Claiming influences as diverse as Francine Rivers and Jodi Piccoult, Patti weaves stories of grace that have in their fiber real-life incidents.

Currently Patti's juggling three projects: a friend's memoir, an 1860s historical romance, and a series set in Patti's home town, Normal, Illinois. Patti soothes her itch to teach by leading seminars, facilitating writing classes, and speaking at women's events. Patti and her husband Alan, a college professor, have two grown children and a dog named Laura.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Patti Lacy's Writing Never Ceases to Amaze December 6, 2011

By Deb Piccurelli

Format:Paperback

Patti Lacy has been one of my favorite writers since her first book, because her prose is like poetry. To me, the way she paints pictures with words makes her the Leonardo da Vinci of the writing world. Add to that this moving story about sisters separated by oceans and a family torn apart by the ravages of an inherited disease, and you'll never view life in the same context again.

In Reclaiming Lily, Harvard graduate, Dr. Kai Chang, needs to warn Lily, the sister she left on the steps of a Chinese orphanage years earlier, about a devastating disease that runs in their family. But Lily had been adopted by an American couple, the Powells. Gloria Powell distrusts Kai, and fears her presence will send their troubled seventeen-year-old daughter over the edge. Can Kai and Gloria put aside their differences, and work together for Lily's sake?

I can't say enough about how excellent Reclaiming Lily is. You'll need to keep the tissues nearby for this one!

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Hard to connect with November 5, 2011

By Cafe Lily

Format:Paperback

Two worlds literally collide in this story. Adoptive parents, Rev. Andrew and Gloria Powell have their world turned upside down when out of nowhere a physician contacts them about their daughter, Joy. Dr. Kai Chang, has information about a rare inherited disorder, PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) that may be affecting their seventeen year old adopted daughter Joy, who was known as Lily in China.

And if that revelation isn't enough, Joy also happens to be Dr. Chang's birth sister. With a vested interest in Joy's well-being, Dr. Chang is also determined to keep her promise to her mother to find and "reclaim Lily". An emotional tug of war ensues over this young woman who is loved by so many.

This book was intense and informative but a little hard for me to get into. At times the story flipped from the present to the past and I found myself having a difficult time following it. There were so many layers to peel back that it felt a bit chaotic at times, but this book is getting great reviews from other readers who obviously found their connection to the story.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Did Not Live Up to the Hype October 21, 2011

By VeraP

Format:Paperback

The Powells' desperate desire to start a family leads them to early 90's China, where foreign adoptions are still taboo. Promised a baby, the Powells are instead told that they only child available is a 10-year-old girl, Lilly, the rumored daughter of counterrevolutionaries and the victim of China's one child policy.

Undeterred, Gloria Powell is convinced that God placed them in Lilly's path and that she is their child; the couple returns home to Texas with the girl and rename her Joy.

Seven years later, worn out from Joy's rebellious antics, Powells' receive a call from Kai, a Boston doctor claiming to be Joy's sister. Kai arrives eager to see the sister she left at the orphanage many years ago, but also bearing the news that Joy may be suffering from PKD, a hereditary and deadly kidney disease that claimed the life of her birth mother. Can Gloria trust Kai's intentions, or will the woman's sudden appearance drive an even bigger wedge between mother and daughter?

Reclaiming Lily, the latest Christian novel from author Patti Lacy, explores the emotional subjects of foreign adoption and the tough reality of fatal kidney disorders. While I could appreciate the intention behind the book and thought the premise was great, I could not truly get invested in the story or the characters. I could have easily put down the book midway and not cared enough to go back and find out how it ended.

In my mind, Lacy's writing felt forced and did not inspire an attachment to the story that this type of subject matter normally does. There was just too much of everything - overly detailed descriptions, Chinese imagery, etc. - and at times the book read more like a play than a novel.... I must note that most reviewers gave Reclaiming Lily glowing praises, so I may be alone in my assessment. Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Great idea, poor execution December 26, 2011

By Yiya Cucuy

Format:Paperback

Lily is a girl born in China, the third daughter of the Changs, an intellectual and independent family that faces the harshness of the Cultural Revolution. In a country where fathering more than one child is simply out of line, Lily's sisters save her by taking her to an orphanage; Kai, the middle sister promises to bring Lily back into the family one day. Kai ends up studying medicine in Harvard, and she is residing in Boston when she learns about a fatal hereditary illness that could claim Lily's life. In order to fulfill her promise, she goes back to China, but just in time to see Lily get on the van with the Powells, her adoptive parents.

Andrew Powell is a Minister, always with the right words and tone to deter any catastrophe of any kind. Gloria is his wife, involved in church, weathering issues that come about in church, but incapable of restraining her emotions when it comes to Kai, the woman that might shatter her already fragile relationship with Lily. A test of faith for both, Gloria and Kai, saving Lily's life is the motivation to go ahead and both learn valuable lessons that will shape them (I hope) for the rest of their lives.

In a poor intent at imprinting suspense, the author uses almost unending flashbacks that are really confusing, leaving an overall taste of shallowness, which is really sad, as the idea is really deep, and a good example of love and forgiveness is always welcome. The frequent long descriptions distract from the situation, rather than enhance it; they feel forced and fake. I am sorry to say that the book became boring and that it was difficult to finish; at no moment did it interest me in a way that made me want to know what happened next.... I did enjoy the references to the Chinese culture, which sparked my curiosity about doing some research, so I can also say that I got something out of this reading.

I must say that this would be a good book if you appreciate clean vocabulary, and want to be entertained with an easy book. Also, as I mentioned before, the idea is good, so it could be used as a teaching tool. For example, Gloria's faith is shaky, so we can see a real person with struggles; Kai is someone who has been in touch with some Christian faith, but she has to deal with her ancestors and the teachings of a lifetime without God.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review. In no way has this influenced my opinion on the book or the author. Read more ›