Sweetest Thing, The [Paperback]

Elizabeth Musser (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2011

The Singleton family's fortunes seem unaffected by the Great Depression, and Perri--along with the other girls at Atlanta's elite Washington Seminary--lives a carefree life of tea dances with college boys, matinees at the cinema, and debut parties. But when tragedies strike, Perri is confronted with a world far different from the one she has always known.

At the insistence of her parents, Mary "Dobbs" Dillard, the daughter of an itinerant preacher, is sent from inner-city Chicago to live with her aunt and attend Washington Seminary, bringing confrontation and radical ideas. Her arrival intersects at the point of Perri's ultimate crisis, and the tragedy forges an unlikely friendship.

The Sweetest Thing tells the story of two remarkable young women--opposites in every way--fighting for the same goal: surviving tumultuous change.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Elizabeth Musser is the author of seven novels, including the bestselling The Swan House. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, she and her husband currently reside near Lyon, France.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (June 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764208314
• ISBN-13: 978-0764208317
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 1.1 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #515,868 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elizabeth Musser, a native of Atlanta, Georgia now living in France, is a novelist who writes what she calls 'entertainment with a soul.' Elizabeth attended The Westminster Schools in Atlanta and Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee where she majored in French and English literature, graduated magna cum laude and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa honor society.

Her novels have been acclaimed in the United States and in Europe. The Swan House (Bethany House, c2001), set in Atlanta in the early sixties, was named as one of Amazon's Top Christian Books of the Year (2001), was an ABA and SEBA bestseller and was recently named one of Georgia's Top Ten Novels of the past 100 years, right behind Gone with the Wind (from Georgia Backroads, Autumn, 2009). The Secrets of the Cross trilogy (David C Cook, 2012), which takes place during Algeria's War for Independence from France and also in present day Algeria and France, (Two Crosses, Two Testaments, Two Destinies) has been a bestseller in Europe. Two Destinies was recently nominated for the Christy Award, for excellence in Christian fiction. Elizabeth's other novels The Dwelling Place, (Bethany House, c2005), Searching for Eternity (Bethany House, c2007), Words Unspoken (Bethany House, c2009), and The Sweetest Thing (Bethany House, 2011) all set in the South in the 1930s-1980s, continue to examine themes of brokenness and healing, faith and forgiveness, surrender and sacrifice.

Elizabeth's books have been translated into German, French, Dutch and Norwegian.

From an interview with Publisher's Weekly, "Elizabeth Musser likes to say she has two part-time jobs. Not only is she an award-winning novelist, but she and her husband serve as missionaries at a small Protestant church in Lyon, France. In both lines of work, she avoids preaching and simplistic answers, choosing instead to portray a God who cares in the midst of life's complexity..."

Elizabeth adds, "My desire is to offer the best literature I can write, drawing the reader into a story that is compelling, believable and sprinkled with historical detail. I seek to give a realistic picture of what faith lived out in this world looks like, and, as always, I hope that my stories can be appreciated by all audiences, not just those readers who hold my same religious beliefs. It is a delight to receive confirmation of this through reader letters."

For over 25 years, Elizabeth and her husband, Paul, have been involved in mission work with International Teams. They presently live in Lyon, France. The Mussers have two sons, a daughter-in-law, and the cutest grandson in the world, of course.

To learn more about Elizabeth and her books, please visit her website at www.elizabethmusser.com and her Facebook Fan Page

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet! May 24, 2011

By msh09

Format:Paperback

Loved, loved, LOVED this book! What a sweet (yes, the title is perfect) story of friendship between two very different girls in Atlanta, set during the Great Depression. Perri is from the elite class in Atlanta and Dobbs is from Chicago, staying with her aunt in order to get a better education. Dobbs father is a traveling preacher. Her family always wonders where their next meal is coming from. Dobbs and her family have a faith that can move mountains. I have never read a book by Elizabeth Musser, but I can assure you that I will read many more. The characters that she created and the challenges they faced were very real. Many Christian Fiction books tend to make lives a little too pretty and tied in a little bow. Musser depicts the real life struggles of life and faith in the lives of Dobbs and Perri. And the wonderful gift of friendship that God can use to lift us up when nothing else can. As Dobbs told Perri towards the beginning and as Perri told Dobbs towards the end......sometimes we need someone else to say the prayers for us that we can't voice for ourselves.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Quite what I was Expecting August 29, 2011

By Crystal A. Blomgren

Format:Paperback

I love history. I love to read historical fiction. So it was with my excitement that I got The Sweetest Thing by Elizabeth Musser to review. I am fascinated with the Depression Era as that is when my grandparents were born and I thought this was going to be a terrific book.
I don't want to give the book's entire plot away. Which this is going to be hard...Perri's world is shattered within the first chapter. She lives in a well-to-do family and was quite accustomed to pretty much getting whatever she wanted, attending the best school and being quite the little socialite. Her neighbors take in a niece who's poor. Mary Dobbs comes from a totally different world. One where faith is supreme, and you give what you have to those who need it more than you do.
The two girls become friends, but can their friendship survive through their drastically different lives? Can Mary Dobbs keep her faith as Perri finds hers?
Honestly, I had to struggle to finish this book. I kind of felt like the characters were forced to come alive. And personally, I thought the plot was way too far fetched. The first chapter deals with extremely difficult issues (well, the whole book does) and you have no time at all to get to know any of the characters and form a sort of relationship with them before tragedy strikes. In a way, the book felt abrupt. I found it hard to relate to any of the characters and really ended up not caring how things turned out in the end.
This book wasn't for me personally. However, the fact that I got it to read the week of our tornado may have clouded my thoughts on the book as I was already dealing with the emotional upheaval of living in a disaster zone and things in real life looked bleak enough. Real life happenings can cloud perceptions towards anything, including books of fiction.
I received a copy of The Sweetest Thing by Elizabeth Musser from Bethany House for the purposes of this review. All opinions are mine and mine alone and no other compensation was received.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Lightly Entertaining July 5, 2011

By E. Mathew

Format:Paperback

The Sweetest Thing, by Elizabeth Musser, was the first fiction book I've read in a long time. (Well, reading through books has been kind of put on a back burner for a while). Still, I was pleasantly captivated....at least when I got past the first few chapters.

The story line is set in the American Depression era, but focuses on the life of the rich more than the struggles of the poor during that time. I found this interesting, yet puzzling too. I have never (I think) read any books or information from that time period from this perspective. Therefore, while I found the story entertaining, I also found it hard to believe. It made me curious to dig up more information and biographies of the rich during that time. (Which I haven't done yet, so my review is still baised toward the unbelieveable...sorry).

The writing is smooth, though I found it a bit wordy. This author was new to me, and I laughed when I read her acknowledgments where she mentioned "Thanks for helping me cut this book down to a readable length." Because, even though she cut it I guess, I would say there was still that feel of a lot of extra detailing and descriptions that I could've done without. Therefore, to actually get into the story plot took me about 3 chapters.

So, in all, it was interesting, spurred my interest in studying some history, and was entertaining. But, it is not a book I will keep on my bookshelf long. There are others that I find more enduring and classic.