Customer Reviews

Saturday Morning: A Novel

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
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Lauraine Snelling has produced another treasured book for and about women in Saturday Morning. It is the story of a group of women who band together to save a San Francisco women's shelter. Hope Benson tries to save the shelter from developers who want the property. Her pregnancy makes her unable to keep the shelter safe, so she is joined in the fight by three other women who meet at a farmer's market.

This novel, published by WaterBrook Press, is about the power of friendship. The four women who are the main characters of the story all have some dilemma, but they work together to save the shelter and to keep it in its original location where the farmer's market sets up. The forty-three chapters tell of Andrea's search for a happy marriage and career blend, Hope's struggle through a difficult pregnancy, Julia's search for her missing daughter, and Clarice's dealing with the disappearance of her husband.

One stirring episode involves a police raid on the shelter's Sunday church service and the discovery of drugs on the premises. Andrea, "Andy," is the strongest character and she starts a successful business selling herbs; just as the business takes off her husband decides to move. Andy's husband nearly dies with heart trouble, yet she takes care of him and they come to grips with some of the problems in their marriage.

The women become treasured comrades as they each struggle in their own unique set of circumstances, while ministering to the shelter's clients. They learn to trust God and each other. The characters are strong and believable, and it is written with good dialogue and scenes that portray the situation realistically. Saturday Morning infuses a spiritual message which makes it worthwhile reading. I recommend it to women who know that life is seldom of the "Leave It To Beaver" variety." - Elece Hollis, Christian Book Previews.com

Lauraine has taken the truth that every woman, somewhere, has brokenness in her life, and shown how community can be a place of healing. She casts her characters on an unlikely stage-a shelter for women-and deftly weaves between the conflicts of four main characters. If you're looking for fun yet inspirational literature with women as the main characters, don't pass this one by.

Lauraine Snelling is best known as a writer of historical Christian fiction, but she hits one out of the park with her latest contemporary fiction offering, "Saturday Morning."

Snelling brings together four women of diverse backgrounds who are each going through crises in their lives. Their interweaving stories, and the way they band together for friendship, support and prayer, makes for such an engaging tale, I had a very difficult time putting the book down.

There's Andy, who after raising her children and supporting her traveling businessman husband for years, now finds herself with a thriving lavender farm and skyrocketing lavender product business. (Coincidentally, I have had my own love affair with lavender for the past several months! I love its fresh, clean fragrance. I thought lavender was grown in France; didn't realize it's a big business here in the U.S.) Suddenly, Andy's husband wants to move to San Francisco...and Andy doesn't want to go.

There's Hope, who runs a downtown San Francisco rescue mission called "Casa de Jesus." Big business is threatening to close the doors--just as Hope gets some of the biggest, most life-changing news of her life.

There's Julia, an attorney whose troubled granddaughter has run away to--you guessed it--San Francisco.

And there's Clarice, a wealthy aging widow who arrives in the Bay City, stunned and penniless, courtesy of the gigolo husband who duped her.

The idea of women coming together for support and prayer is one that Lauraine Snelling hopes will catch on. She tells me, "My dream would be that women would come away from (the book) saying, 'I have to have a group like that,' and do everything they can to build that group and to take the time for that group and to be blessed that way."

Life is full of challenges and disappointments. In SATURDAY MORNING, the reader encounters four women who are in completely different places in their lives. Like a fine weaver, Lauraine Snelling slowly spins the stories of these individuals until they come together in a beautiful tapestry. On the graphic of a price tag, each chapter includes the name of the viewpoint character of that particular section.

The book opens with Andy Taylor, who has taken up the hobby of creating products with lavender plants in Medford, Oregon and parlayed the family farm into a booming home business. An empty-nester with her three children in college, Andy's parents live nearby and help plant, harvest and package the raw materials for the business named Lavender Meadows. Andy's husband, Martin, is a business executive who travels a great deal. Over the years, the couple has drifted apart and created separate lives. Almost unaware of the satisfaction Andy receives from her growing business, Martin arrives and announces that the company has offered him the dream job of a Vice President position. It means that he can get off the road and stay home --- but with this promotion, the Taylors are required to live near company headquarters in San Francisco. Furious at Martin's insensitivity about her needs in Oregon, Andy compromises and suggests they have one home in San Francisco and one in Medford.

Several chapters later, readers meet Julia Collins, a successful trial lawyer from Kansas City. Initially Julia appears hardworking yet problem-free. As the story unfolds, however, Julia has a communication struggle with her daughter, Donna. For a while, Donna's daughter Cyndy lived with Julia. But the young girl didn't like her grandmother's rules, so she returned to her mother. In a phone call to her daughter, Julia learns that Cyndy has left home and is headed to California. Hiring a private investigator, Cyndy's trail leads to San Francisco. Julia takes a sabbatical from her legal work and tries to personally locate Cyndy.

Hope Benson runs J House, a shelter for women. Life is always full at the shelter for Hope and her former policeman husband, Roger. Born in Jamaica, Hope runs her ministry on a shoestring that borders on financial collapse. Living with many unfulfilled wishes, which Hope calls "if onlys," her life suddenly takes a dramatic turn. Thinking she has some terrible illness because of her symptoms, Hope sees a nearby clinic doctor and learns the impossible has happened. Previously, this doctor had told Hope that she couldn't get pregnant. Now, Hope discovers she's pregnant with her first child! With the busy lifestyle of J House, a difficult pregnancy makes it even more complex for Hope.

About a third into the book, readers meet the fourth woman, Clarice Van Dam, who lives in Tampa, Florida. After the death of her husband, Herbert, Clarice falls in love with a much younger man, Gregor, who has taken over her life. They pack everything and plan to move into an apartment in San Francisco. Gregor kisses Clarice and sends her ahead while he completes some details. Because she's never been to San Francisco, Clarice carries an envelope with detailed instructions and a key from Gregor. Readers can feel the tension and almost guess what is going to happen to Clarice, hoping it will not occur. She arrives in San Francisco and makes her way to the apartment building, yet her key doesn't work. There is no apartment reservation. Her credit cards don't work, and Clarice discovers that her year-long marriage to Gregor was a complete scam. On the street without money, Clarice is directed to J House, and the threads of the book begin to weave together.

I found that these four viewpoints combine interesting characters with complex problems to be solved. Lauraine Snelling has written a masterpiece that makes ideal reading. The overall stories emphasize the power of prayer and friendship to change lives. I recommend this novel as a great encouragement to anyone.


--- Reviewed by W. Terry Whalin, writer and editor in Scottsdale, Arizona. His latest book is BOOK PROPOSALS THAT $ELL, 21 SECRETS TO SPEED YOUR SUCCESS (Write Now Publications). [...].

In San Francisco former hooker Hope Benson runs the Casa de Jesus women's shelter, but knows her facility will fail state inspection unless a miracle occurs. Although she detests moving and giving up her thriving lavender line, Andy Taylor relocates to the Bay City when her spouse accepts a new job. At the same time Kansas City attorney Julia Collins is in town searching for her runaway teenage granddaughter. Finally, wealthy widow Clarice Van Dam is left with nothing when her spouse deserts her taking all their possessions including their funds with him.

These four females meet in the Casa de Jesus parking lot and forge the Girl Squad to help them while looking to God for divine assurance. The quartet work to try to save the shelter and each other as a sisterly bond forms by being the women being there for one another and praying to the Lord to show them the way.

Though the amoral behavior of the males would lead to neutering them, the Girl Squad members are a delightful group who find solace and courage with one another, a common goal to save the shelter, and a strengthening of their belief in God in spite of the mundane odds against them. Each one of the women brings a different personality to the inspirational story line; together they blend quite well although they are so different in background and temperament. Male neutering aside, SATURDAY MORNING is a fabulous upbeat tale of about caring for others leads to taking care of your self.

Harriet Klausner

When four women, who have nothing in common but their faith in God, team up to ensure a house of hope continues to aid women and children who are homeless, God shines His hope and blessings into their lives. Personal pain is left behind, and the future holds more joy for the Girl Squad than any of them ever dreamed possible. A gripping story that proves the power of women friendships.

I read Lauraine Snelling's Red River of the North series many years ago. Those books were a historical christian fiction series where this book is set in more recent times. This book did not disappoint. All four women in the book are all very different from one another. They are thrown together and then find that with God they can overcome anything by working together. I love the fact that all the women were so different but still managed to become good, close friends. The story kept my attention. The story moves along at a nice pace and kept my attention. If you are a fan of light, contemporary christian fiction you will probably enjoy this book.

Hope is a former prostitute that found God, married, and started a women's shelter in San Fransisco. Andy is a "corporate wife", though she hates that word. She grew up on a farm, started a lavender business, and has strong family ties. Julia is a high-power attorney who is searching for her granddaughter who may be a prostitute--or may be dead. Clarice and her late husband started a successful business. They had lots of money. Clarice got duped by her second husband, who was much younger than her, and is now relying on the women's shelter to keep her off the streets.

What do all these women have in common? Nothing but God and San Fransisco. They learn to rely on each other and God. They learn that God does not have to be fancy or what main-stream churches portray. Together, they form The Girl Squad, a group that prays for each other.

I do not know if I can put into words how awesome this book is. I did not want to put it down, and I did not want it to end. I felt a connection to each quirky character. Most of all, I want a Girl Squad.

This was a good example of Christian fiction for women on the lighter side. It was a little deeper issue-wise than Chic Lit but did not delve deep into any one life. This book was a story about 4 women who became friends and the issues they faced in their lives. It flips back and forth between the four, except there isn't as much about Julia as there is about the other three.

Though the plot was predictable, the unfolding of the story was charming. The characters developed as they learned how to live where they were and to serve others, and especially with prayer.

Why this didn't get 5 stars - everything was wrapped up too neatly at the end and almost unbelievable. Because there were four main women, there wasn't much development of each one. Yes you did see them change, but it would have been great to read a little more of each story. But I did appreciate the fact that they not only prayed, but went about and did something as well.

The book did keep me turning pages to see how things would work themselves out. This could also be very inspiring for women who want to serve or just get together and bond with other women.

For some strange reason, a big chunk of the books that I win due to Goodreads or LibraryThing, tend to be Christian-Fiction. The weird thing about that is that I don't realize that they are actually Christian-Fiction. Now, if I were religious, I would be inclined to say that something like that is divine intervention. But since I'm not, I'm just going to say that I need start reading the descriptions of the books I sign up for much more thoroughly. Just to avoid reading a genre that I don't necessarily love. That way I won't feel like an idiot when I say that I didn't love a Christian-Fiction book because it was too preachy since being preachy is pretty much a staple in Christian-Fiction books.

I've read about three, maybe four Inspirational books and I've only really liked Beaded Hope because it wasn't too preachy. Obviously, prayer was a big part of the characters' lives, but I didn't feel like the author was going overboard. In Saturday Morning, every other page was about God. Again, there's nothing wrong with that, but as someone who isn't religious, it did end up being a bit much. So, those parts were sort of skimmed over.

The rest of Saturday Morning was pretty good. While I didn't truly connect with any of the characters, I did enjoy their storylines. I absolutely loved Andy's storyline with her husband. Every time he tried to get her to fit into his perfect mold, she would just dish out the "This is the way it's going to be" attitude and I just found the whole thing endlessly amusing before it turned all angsty. I also really liked the J House storyline. I was in awe at what all the women were doing to help out the less fortunate.

All in all, I thought that Saturday Morning was an okay novel. I did think the resolution of everything was a bit out there, but that just might be because of my skepticism towards the notion that prayer solves everything. Saturday Morning was a mildly enjoyable and extremely quick read, so I can't complain. I'll just have to look a little closer next time I'm signing up for giveaways.