Customer Reviews

Renovating Becky Miller (Becky Miller, Book 2)

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Reading books written in first person is not usually my first choice, but I found Renovating Becky Miller so enticing that I forgot it was in first person.

Sharon Hinck drew me into the book by opening each chapter with a daydream Becky Miller was indulging herself in. In each chapter, Becky loses herself in a movie she and her husband have seen on their weekly date nights.

Becky Miller's life is not easy. She's a mother, a wife, has a part-time job at her church working with the women's ministries, and is disabled, just to add a little icing to her cake of a life.

Already harrying, Becky's life is complicated by the purchase of a new home for her family. What looked like the perfect solution to a cramped home life turns into a renovation nightmare for Becky and husband Kevin.

Will their marriage survive? Will the family survive? Will Becky remain sane, or will she lose herself in one of her daydreams and never come home?

I kept turning pages of Renovating Becky Miller partly because I had to know what Sharon would use as her next chapter opening, but mostly because I became engrossed in Becky's life. I laughed and I cried and now I have to go back and find the first book in Sharon's series about Becky Miller, The Secret Life of Becky Miller.

By the way, I guessed most of the titles of the movies Sharon uses as chapter opening scenarios, but in case you don't recognize them, there is a list of them at the end of the book.

Renovating Becky Miller by Sharon Hinck is an entertaining look into the life of a multi-tasker sure she can do it all and fix it all. You will laugh and angst and maybe even cry as you read this book. There could be times you wonder if Sharon actually peeked in your windows as she researched this book.

. . . Becky Miller is wife of Kevin, mother of three, leader of the women's ministry at church, housewife, fixer and daydreamer. She tries not to even let the pain in her leg and cane she must use for walking slow her down.
Becky goes out of her way to work for the church ministries and help anyone who seeks help. She can see the solution to all of the problems around her. But when her sister and mother-in-law both end up living with them in their new fixer-upper home she cannot find the way to fix them or herself.
The love between she and Kevin is strained by the finances of renovation, the stress of extra family members in the house and small miscommunications between the two of them. Little things start adding up. And it is not until Becky realizes that she cannot do it all, and turns things over to God that He steps in and works His own perfect renovations . . .

Within the pages of this book you may recognize yourself , your mother, your sister or wife. Life circumstances are real and for many of us almost a bit too close to home. This is a humorous, poignant look at marriage and motherhood. But more than that is the grace-filled truth of the beauty that God sees in each of us despite our faults and the way His Hands will `fix' all of our circumstances. Clear you calendar, because when you travel to this suburb of Minneapolis, you will not leave until you close the book.

Those who enjoyed rollicking through life with Becky Miller will enjoy Sharon Hinck's honest and beautifully written sequel, Renovating Becky Miller. Hinck's ability to get us behind Becky's paranoia, self-talk, and angst illuminates the reader's need for inner renovation. I felt like I spent a month with a family--a real, breathing, normal American family who struggled with following Jesus in the midst of sticky circumstances.

Sharon Hinck follows up the Secret Life of Becky Miller with a creative punch. Becky Miller still has a vivid fantasy life, this time putting herself in a variety of movies. As she struggles to fix all the people in her life, we began to think that she really didn't learn her lesson from the first book. Oh, but she did. We all hang on to our old selves at times, don't we? This time Becky learns when to let go.

Sharon's a terrific writer. Her command of language and humor is painting her as a writer that all moms love to read. Who else can describe a toddler's pout or a kindergartener's happy dance so well?

It's a light and easy read with a warm message. Highly recommended.

You might be familiar with the notion that second books often don't live up to the reputation of the first. It's the equivalent of baseball's "sophomore jinx." Thankfully Sharon Hinck, who's first novel, The Secret Life of Becky Miller was my choice for Best Book in 2006, shatters that notion.

Renovating Becky Miller picks up the protagonist's story where The Secret Life left off. Becky, hampered with a limp and a cane because of her accident, is working part-time in the new church to set up their women's ministry department.

Through the tangles of busy-ness, she realizes some key relationships are not what she wishes, and the harder she tries to fix things and people the worse it all seems to get.

I'm not telling you more. I firmly believe that knowing the plot in advance dilutes the power of the story. This one is too good to let that happen.

As she did in her first book, Hinck begins each chapter with one of the protagonist's daydreams, but these are adaptations of a host of popular movies. Part of the fun is recognizing which hero Becky Miller is envisioning herself to be or more accurately, which hero's harrowing circumstances she likens to her own.

Besides the fun, Hinck once again delivers a powerful truth through the story without lecturing or moralizing. Her character digs herself a hole, lots falls in on top, and because of her circumstances she discovers the truth she has been missing. We readers are just along for the ride.

And boy, are we. This story captured me to the point that I fell asleep at night reading and awoke early only to think of the story and grab the book to read more. Hinck's writing put me into the protagonist's skin. I felt for her, worried with her, ached when she did, and cried when she realized what she needed to know.

Here's the tell-tale anecdote true story. The day after reading Renovating, I left my seat in front of the computer to pour a glass of milk. My knee was a little creaky, and I thought, "I should have used my cane." I stopped myself, had to laugh. "No, Becky, you are not the one who has a bad knee and hip; you don't walk with a cane. That would be the fictitious Becky Miller."

What more can I say? When an author transports you into that other world and lets you live what the characters live, there's no better writing. There's no more-satisfying read.

I will say, at the beginning I experienced momentary uncertainty. The protagonist's initial struggles sounded too familiar, and I thought we might be in for a reworking of the same issues that she confronted in the first book. I was pleased to be wrong.

Hinck has a wonderful way of leading you to paths you least expect, but when you get there, you realize that's where you were headed all along.

The story is fun, moving, surprising, full of truth and characters that seem as real as you and me.

Renovating Becky Miller is a must read for Christian women, and I highly recommend it for Christian men.

Sharon's latest in the Becky Miller series deals with (among other things) workaholism that is justified because it's ministry and "for God", churches that think growth in terms of the number of butts in the pews on Sunday is the only thing that matters, and the skewed way in which mental illness is viewed. But it's never a downer, never heavy-handed, never preachy, and, thankfully, quite often very funny. I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone!

Ever wondered if God has Big Things planned for your life? Ever been too tired to care or too busy to wonder about it much? Then Renovating Becky Miller is a must-read!

I fell in love with this book from the cinematic daydreams that segue perfectly into Becky's everyday life to the cast of characters I wanted to hang out with. I loved Becky's honest transparency and how easily I could relate to her. Not only that, but what God taught Becky in the pages of this book, He also taught me as I laughed, cried, and cheered for Becky and her family.

This book is more relaxing than a Calgon escape and (dare I say it?) even more enjoyable than chocolate! I give Renovating Becky Miller 5 out of 5 stars and a wholehearted Heart Chocolate top pick of 2007!

Becky Miller is back. This time the supermom is facing a daunting new task: moving into a spacious farmhouse that needs some fixing up. All she wants is just some movie nights with her husband and family in a new quiet simpler life out in the country. Alas that is not to be as the farmhouse needs the Extreme Home Makeover of a lifetime, Kevin's mom (whom Becky can't seem to please) moves in with them, her friend Lori is battling depression, her work at church is stretching her thin, and to top it off Kevin and her aren't having the wonderful loving marriage she thought it would be. It'll take some renovating of her own to show Becky what is and should be the most important things in her life and how once again Supermom can't do it all.

First off I want to say I am a huge movie geek nerd. So is it sad that I recognized almost all the movie scenes prologues without even having to look in the back of the book? I absolutely loved those times when Becky uses her imagination. And she did all my favorites: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Indiana Jones, James Bond! (I'm showing my inner geek here) I felt this book was even better than the first. The writing is top notch with lots of humor and feeling. I really love how Becky does allow herself to get angry and frustrated at people even if its close family and friends. It makes her a more real and relatable character. I really could feel sympathetic for Becky in this book. It seemed that no matter what she did it wasn't good enough for anyone. She really stretched herself out thin trying to help both the church and her family. I agree with Becky about the church doing too much to help out others but not think about their actual members. Yes it is important that we need to witness to others but should church members have to suffer from being burnt out? I also felt Becky's pain about trying to have to please Kevin's mom all the time, and how she had to back down because Kevin's mom had the bad past background card to trump everything Becky did. Also at times I got frustrated with Kevin. It seemed to me he was being selfish at times just because Becky wasn't giving him the attention he wanted. It almost seemed providential that Becky hurt her leg again so that people could finally realize that they needed to show her more appreciation. It's really sad to think about how we take our moms for granted sometime.

This is one of the best mom-lit books out there. It makes me wonder if this will be what my life will be like next time when I have my own family. I highly recommend this book for everyone (moms, movie lovers, home renovation experts). Here's hoping for a Becky Miller Episode III: Revenge of the Kids....

Sharon Hinck's sequel to "The Secret Life of Becky Miller" picks up smoothly where the first left off. We re-encounter familiar characters, meet a couple of new faces, and discover that even a passionate believer can still struggle with confusion, uncertainty, and the desire to take on so much more than she needs to. However, she also sees that God _does_ answer her (and our) questions, although He does so in His way and time frame, not ours. Becky's life is clearly a long-term learning process. But as one of the peripheral characters points out, nothing is perfect this side of heaven.

In many ways, the book is a twenty-first-century retelling of "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House," but only in that the Cary Grant movie was Ms. Hinck's starting point. From there she quickly heads into deeper and more challenging waters than the movie ever did. Fixer-uppers can be nightmares of unpredictability, and the Millers' new house is no exception. The difference is that Becky's (and Ms. Hinck's) lives are grounded in their faith in Jesus. While Becky still sees herself as the ultimate fixer for marriage, family, and friends, she gradually comes to remember that all rests in God's infinitely capable hands, and that He will provide even when we can't imagine how.

"Renovating Becky Miller" is even more satisfying than its predecessor, and I gave that one a 5-star review. The writing is as smooth and satisfying as before, the multiple subplots are woven in seamlessly, and the humor continues to be laugh-out-loud funny, especially when it involves her children.

There's an added depth and richness to this that's expected with a second novel. The first book set up the foundation, allowing Ms. Hinck to deepen the characters (one in particular - but I won't spoil any revelations except to say that this one was startling and courageous) and their relationships among each other.

Commitment is an unspoken theme, along with knowing how much to promise, and recognizing when enough is enough. Becky grows a lot in the book. Love isn't shouted, but whispered, whether it's the permanent love of a solid marriage, the love that sometimes leads us to say, "No", or the tough love that children sometimes need. Alongside this is forgiveness, whether asked of God or given to others.

As before, the movie intros to each chapter add to the enjoyment. Part of the fun is guessing their sources, and I got most. Some were pretty obscure; Ms. Hinck is a serious film buff. Fortunately, she included a list at the end so I could score myself.

"Renovating Becky Miller" is a wonderfully entertaining story, but one with a lot of substance. It's much more than the typical chick-lit time-filler, and there's solid food, not just milk, in these pages. I look forward to the next book in the series. Ms. Hinck has included several tantalizing teasers to pique my interest (including a shocking, but good, cliffhanger in the last three paragraphs). She has also included a great deal in this book to make me reflect on my own relationship with God. It made me think and reflect, and few novels manage to do this, especially as well as "Renovating Becky Miller" does.

I highly recommend this book, and wish only that Amazon allowed 6-star reviews.

I was so exctied to find that Ms Hinck had written a sequel to The Secret Life of Becky Miller. I thought the first book did such a great job of wrapping up all the loose ends, I was not sure where this story would go. But let me tell you, Becky Miller was not finished. She had many more tales to tell. This book is great and I loved the change from the super hero intros of each chapter to the movie excerpts. They tie in so well. Great book. Extremely quick read! I highly reccomend it!