The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Tough (Yada Yada Prayer Group, Book 4) [Paperback]

Neta Jackson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Yada Yada Prayer Group, Book 4 | Publication Date: October 4, 2005

The Yada Yadas got tight in the past year, but they're about to learn the real meaning of togetherness.

We'd done it: we'd taken a mismatched, diverse group of women and cobbled together a prayer group that really worked for all of us. Now that spring was here, we were celebrating our one-year anniversary--and a wedding, an early parole, and two baptisms in the lake! Everything was feeling pretty great.

But it's when we're in our comfort zone that we're most likely to let our guard down. Without warning, lots of little things seemed to become big problems. With a white supremacy hate group targeting a local university, our very diversity almost became a liability. It took a vicious attack on Nony's husband to make us see that we had to get tough--and fight back together.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

NETA JACKSON and her husband Dave are an award-winning husband/wife writing team, best known for the Trailblazer Books – a 40-volume 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 awards for her work, including a 1995 C.S. Lewis Award and a Gold Medallion.

From AudioFile

Barbara Rosenblat's talents are well utilized in this entry in Jackson's series, which stands well on its own. A group of ethnically diverse women makes up this Chicago prayer group, which is facing the challenges of a hate crime, the early parole of one woman, and the marriage of another. All the women (and men) are convincingly portrayed by Rosenblat, including the secondary characters. Her rendition of the frequent prayers is heartfelt, and her musical talents are delightful as she sings the story's hymns. Rosenblat is warm, real, and in the moment as she imbues the narration with her own spirit along with that of the prayer group--a powerful combination. M.A.M. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 373 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson; 1ST edition (October 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591453585
• ISBN-13: 978-1591453581
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,076,143 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

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I enjoy the whole series, February 18, 2006

By 

TheSleepyReader (Midwestern USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Tough (Yada Yada Prayer Group, Book 4) (Paperback)

But I love how Neta Jackson makes the reader think about the issue of racism within society and also within the church.
She does this without being heavy handed and depressing and she manages to make you understand how a lonely and insecure person can be duped by some of the hatred that is out there and even how easy it is for someone on guard against it to fall into a "Them vs. Us mindset"

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Always fun, current and honest, March 23, 2006

By 

ConstantReader79 "Jo" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Tough (Yada Yada Prayer Group, Book 4) (Paperback)

What I have liked about this series from the beginning is the honesty. I love how the characters are so real. The lead character Jody, stuggles often with her own beliefs, always expanding her way of thinking and having to come to terms with life outside of her comfort zone.
This is of course something that we all have to do, and reading these stories of women not unlike the women in our own lives, helps us to see that we are all struggling, changing and growing.
The book addresses issues that are still very much current and vital. The seperation of churches is one topic, as we see two culturally different churches sharing one building, and the realization that their common concerns need to be addressed together.
I highly recommend this book, and any of the series to any woman. They are fun, you can definitely relate to the characters, and spend several hours feeling like you are with women you know every day.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fight fire with fire, March 15, 2007

By 

Deborah "Books, Movies and Chinese Food" (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Tough (Yada Yada Prayer Group, Book 4) (Paperback)

The Yada Yada Prayer group faces its toughest challenges yet. From white supremacy groups to interracial churches, lottery money to unplanned pregnancies, the group still manages to find time to get together and pray over all the hot issues in their lives. Heavy and serious topics are discussed making the reader feel like they are watching their evening news. Just be prepared to laugh, cry, get angry..just get ready to feel any emotion you have while reading this book.

I felt this book had the strongest message and dealt with the most serious issues discussed in the series so far. I really hate seeing the words of the Bible twisted and used to discriminate against others. How people can actually believe the lies told by these groups is beyond me. This was the first book in the series where I felt that everyone reacted realistically. With the group being so diverse, the race issue was bound to be brought up. It's also amazing how just by being Christians they were able to handle these issues in dignified manners. There is no one saying, "If you trust in God, then you shouldn't worry." While I believe that God will give you peace in stressful situations, it is not realistic to not worry in a time of crisis. Once again Jodi's reactions echo my own, although at one point she felt that she was being selfish for worrying about the safety of her own family instead of worrying about Noni and Mark. I felt that this is not a wrong feeling because your own family should always come first. I also liked seeing the churches come together, and the tension from each side being unwilling to unite is very apparent in society. You don't think about racism happening inside church because everyone is supposed to love each other no matter what. Once again this book really makes you think and pushes your beliefs and faith. With each Yada Yada book I feel more connected to the women and get drawn further and further into the story.