The Yada Yada Prayer Group (Yada Yada Prayer Group, Book 1) [Paperback]

Neta Jackson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2003

What do an ex-con, a former drug addict, a real estate broker, a college student, and a married mother of two have in common?

Nothing, or so I thought. Who would have imagined that God would make a prayer group as mismatched as ours the closest of friends? I almost didn't even go to the Chicago Women's Conference--after all, being thrown together with five hundred strangers wasn't exactly my "comfort zone." But something happened that weekend to make us realize we had to hang together, and the "Yada Yada Prayer Group" was born! When I faced the biggest crisis of my life, God used my newfound Sisters to show me what it means to be just a sinner saved by grace.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Neta (pronounced Nee tuh) Jackson and her husband, Dave, are an award winning writing team, best known for the Trailblazer books – a forty-book series of historical fiction about great Christian heroes with 1.5 million in sales and Hero Tales: A Family Treasury of True Stories from the Lives of Christian Heroes (Vols. 1-4). Neta has collected many honors for her work, including a 1995 C.S. Lewis Award and a God Medallion Award.

From AudioFile

Even those who normally aren't drawn to Christian fiction should give this novel a listen. That's because much honored narrator Barbara Rosenblat puts new gloss on her sterling reputation in its narration. Rosenblat depicts a large cast of characters masterfully, in particular differentiating the multinational members of the titular prayer group. Moving easily from goody-two-shoes Jodi Baxter to her Jamaican, Honduran, and South African friends, Rosenblat illuminates a diverse group of women who bond by facing life's challenges through prayer. When Rosenblat dramatizes the prayers of an African-American member, the listener is tempted to shout "hallelujah!" Bravo to Rosenblat for transforming a nice novel into a notable audiobook. J.J.B. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591450748
• ISBN-13: 978-1591450740
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #319,691 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

As a kid I was crazy about horses and animals of all kinds and loved to draw (horses, mostly). Since I didn't have a horse, I wrote stories about them instead. My high-school English teacher sent one of my stories (about a couger) to a Scholastic magazine writing contest and it won First Place . . . and the rest, as they say, is history. I wanted to be a writer!

I grew up on the campus of a private Christian school in Seattle where my parents were teachers. A lovely childhood, though fairly sheltered. But college took me back to the Chicago area and a whole new world. My husband and I settled in the Chicago area soon after getting married, and even though we both grew up in solid Christian homes, our search to deepen our faith took the form of Christian community for much of our family life raising kids. Eventually the critical issue of racial reconciliation became the call of God upon our life, and we chose to immerse ourselves in African American and multi-cultural churches. Our world and our hearts expanded. What a gift these relationships of faith have been!

All during this time, my husband and I have been a writing team--writing books with expert resource people (as their co-authors) on a variety of topics (from medical ethics to stories of gang kids), then writing a whole series of historical fiction about great Christian heroes--40 titles in all!--called the Trailblazer books (and a series of "Hero Tales," five volumes in all). Now we are each writing adult fiction--the Yada Yada Prayer Group series for me, which was inspired by my real-life Bible study sisters, a multi-cultural group of feisty women going on 12 years now that God has used to turn my life upside down, or rather, rightside up! (I have to admit, sometimes my real world and my fictional world get a bit mixed up!)

I've been married for 40-plus years to the same wonderful man, we are truly partners in life. We raised two kids plus a Cambodian foster daughter, and together they've given us eight beautiful grandchildren! As one of my girlfriends and I agree: The best stress-busters in the world are pets, gardening, and grandkids!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three Cheers for Yada Yada!, December 8, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Yada Yada Prayer Group (Yada Yada Prayer Group, Book 1) (Paperback)

I'll admit, I'm a jaded reader. I came to this novel thinking, "O great, a Christian rip-off of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." Man, was I wrong! This is the most important novel for the women of The Church I've read in many years, touching tenderly yet with no apology issues such as racial division, pride and all of our need to come face to face with our own sin and admit "I am just a sinner saved by grace," as undeserving as a drug addict, a prostitute or murderer. I was encouraged to worship the LORD with all my heart, soul, mind and strength, to call upon Him for all things. The faith of Avis and Adele and Florida, Nony and Delores, ripped into my soul like it did Jodi, the main character. This was more than reading a book, this was a flashlight from heaven lighting corners of my heart I didn't even know existed. I pray this book gets into the hands of people all over the world, people of all colors, creeds and lifestyles. Lisa Samson, author of The Church Ladies and The Living End

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not your everyday Christian book!, April 4, 2005

By 

Lorraine Fuller "Book mom" (Central, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Yada Yada Prayer Group (Yada Yada Prayer Group, Book 1) (Paperback)

Most modern novles tend to be about a certain partilcular cultural or ethnic group. Most characters in the book will be very similar in background and culture. This book changes that, the main characters are very different and even better no one is perfect, no one better than the other person. Each is just different. I think it's a wonderful book for women!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was totally caught up..., September 2, 2004

By 

K. Love - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Yada Yada Prayer Group (Yada Yada Prayer Group, Book 1) (Paperback)

I stayed up later than normal every night because I just couldn't find a stopping place.

This is a wonderful story about how a group of women become entwined in each other's lives, and you will feel like you are right there. Laugh, cry, praise, and pray right along with the women in the story. It's so real, it's hard to believe it's fiction.

There's a character to fit every race, personality, and life background. Drugs, alcohol, religious piety, grace, forgiveness, surrender, friendship. Look deeper into your own prayer life, and feel the power of God.