Customer Reviews

Where My Heart Belongs

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

 

 

Amy Halbert changed her name, took her share of the family money, and left home for good. Kathy Halbert stayed home, taking care of her ailing parents, giving up her dreams to keep the family together. 12 years later, Amy now called Sunny, returns to find the home she left changed dramatically. Kathy harbors angry feelings towards her sister and vows never to forgive her. However when she finds out what really happen to her sister, the judgment she had previously passed seems too harsh. This is not just another retelling of the prodigal son story.

When I first started reading this book, I felt a sense of de ja vu. Didn't I just read a book this year with a version of the prodigal son story? I figured that this story would be the same like all the others where the prodigal gets treated like royalty while the older sibling is humbled and regrets feeling jealous. Boy was I wrong. This story is hard hitting and very heart wrenching. You can see where both sisters made mistakes in how they chose to live their lives and how they have to pay for their decisions. As the younger sister, Sunny doesn't try to gain sympathy when she tells her sister her story. Older sister Kathy, has every right to be angry in my opinion but the story also shows her as making the same kind of selfish choices her sister made. It puts a new spin on the story which I fully appreciated. As always with Peterson's books, it's a wonderful read with excellent story telling. The only part I didn't like was that the ending felt kind of rushed. You don't see any present interaction with Kathy and Kyle. And it felt a little too everyone is happy for me. I know that the characters have had harsh lives but it just seemed a little fast to close things up. However I really enjoyed this story. It's another winner from Tracie Peterson.

Tracie always manages to deal with emotional issues that can occur in families, only as the Lord would deal with them, and in this book, one is moved with compassion for both sisters, Sunny & Kathy. It is difficult to put the book down, until one sees the reconciliation complete ! Even the minor issues are dealt with so well by Tracie. I love her books anyway and would highly recommend this one (along with all her others)

Tracie Peterson has always been one of those authors that I can always rely on for a good read. Through the years, I have particularly enjoyed her contemporary fiction simply because she always weaves a good tale. I remember the last book I read of hers (The Long Awaited Child) was devoured in a day.

I hate to say that I did not completely enjoy this book. I could tell after the first few chapters that the story would be a little redundant, and Kathy would have a very difficult time forgiving Amy's mistakes. It's not that Kathy should have forgiven Amy with no questions asked, but the topic just kept coming up over and over again. I also didn't like some sections of the book where some of their conversations seemed full of pat responses to one another.

Another subject that seemed to come up over and over again was the death of their mother shortly after Amy left home. Kathy, as well as a few members in their small community, blamed Amy for breaking her mother's heart when she demanded her inheritance and flew the coop. Now, I understand that the death of a parent is difficult, but geez, it seemed that everyone couldn't keep from piling a huge load of guilt on Amy because of it.

I hope Where My Heart Belongs was just one of those flukes that some authors seem to have at least one of. Thankfully, this one book is not enough to keep me from reading any more of Tracie's books in the future.

2.5 Stars

This is a book about coming to a place where selfishness melts away and real forgiveness takes place. Sisters Amy and Kathy have lived separate lives for 12 years, but they have lived in parallel pain, each with her own set of hurts, disappointments and loss. When Amy decides to reconcile with her past and return home, she discovers that Kathy hasn't had it easy since Amy abandoned her parents and sister without a phone call or a letter for over a decade. But Kathy is too blinded by her own grief and resentment to receive Amy's sincere apology.

As the sisters work through the rough spots in their relationship, they each have more growing to do. I enjoyed the story and I could feel Kathy's caregiver struggles and her worries over money related to medical and farm bills. I connected with Amy (Sunny) too as she retold the story of her traumatic life since leaving home. I didn't feel a real connection to their dying father, mostly because Kathy was already planning and packing for her move that would take place after he died. It was almost as if she had already said goodbye to him (which is probably the true, since she had a long time to prepare for his death), but this left me as a reader unable to emotionally connect with him.

I also had a difficult time believing that Kyle, Kathy's former fiance, waited 12 years for Kathy to come to her senses, or that he obeyed her wishes and stayed away that entire time without contact. We don't really get to know him in the book. He's just this mystery man who is perfect enough to wait for the woman he loves, a little too convenient maybe.

All in all, this is a book packed with hope and a message that even if everything falls apart, it doesn't mean that life will never turn around. With God in the picture, much can change!

Like all of Tracie Peterson's book this was a very good one. I received it in a timely fashion and in very good condition.

This book was really just 'blah'. I was pretty bored throughout and while you want to root for the sisters, the author does not absorb you in their lives. I think if I could really get involved in who they are and their lives, I might care a little more as to what happens to them.

Enjoyed this book. Light rreading but sometimes that is what I am looking for.

This was a really good book. It was well written, making it easy to read, and quickly grabbing my attention. The storyline of forgiveness and reconciliation hit home. It is fiction with a life changing message. Get yourself a copy!

I had high expectations after I read the previous reviews. What a big disappointment. I love to support Christian authors but this book was just so poorly written--very sophomoric. It felt like it was written in a weekend. There was very little character development. I found myself not caring about what happened to the characters. It was just so predictable and cliched. I forced myself to finish it because my book club selected it. Don't bother.