All Right Here


All Right Here is book one in Carre Armstrong Gardner's new The Darlings series. The description reads: "Ivy Darling can’t have children of her own, and her husband Nick’s resentment is forcing them apart. And while Ivy has the support and love of her large, close-knit family, Nick’s family has never welcomed her into the fold.

When the three children next door are abandoned by their mother, Ivy and Nick take them in for the night. One night becomes several, and suddenly Ivy and Nick find themselves foster parents to the only African-American kids in the town of Copper Cove, Maine. As Ivy grows more attached to the children, Nick refuses to accept their eclectic household as a permanent family. Just as Ivy begins to question whether or not she wants to save her emotionally barren marriage, Nick begins to discover how much Ivy and the children mean to him. But is his change of heart too little, too late?"

I was intrigued by the unusual story concept involving interracial foster parenting/adoption/infertility, so I decided to pick this one up. The story line was pretty interesting - there was quite a lot going on to keep the pace moving. The characters were well drawn and richly detailed and seemed to come to life. However, they were all unlikable in certain ways. At least they were realistic instead of perfect! Several aspects of the story seemed a bit hard to believe (how quickly the foster children bonded to Ivy, how "easy" it is to love children who aren't biologically your own, etc.). I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys contemporary Christian fiction, especially in the area of adoption.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Surviving Death

Image
Surviving Death by Leslie Kean is an investigative journalist's deep dive into the afterlife and all of the current scientific studies and evidence we can examine. The back cover says: "“While exploring the evidence for an afterlife, I witnessed some unbelievable things that are not supposed to be possible in our material world. Yet they were unavoidably and undeniably real. Despite my initial doubt, I came to realize that there are still aspects of Nature which are neither understood or accepted, even though their reality has profound implications for understanding the true breadth of the human psyche and its possible continuity after death.” So begins Leslie Kean’s impeccably researched, page-turning investigation, revealing stunning and wide-ranging evidence suggesting that consciousness survives death. In her groundbreaking second book, she continues her examination of unexplained phenomena that began with her provocative New York Times bestseller UFOs: Generals, Pi
Read more

Can I Just Hide In Bed 'Til Jesus Comes Back?

Image
I'll admit - I wanted to read Can I Just Hide In Bed 'Til Jesus Comes Back?: Facing Life With Courage, Not Comforters by Martha Bolton and Christin Ditchfield mainly because of the cute cover (I mean, just look at it!) and the fun title. I often just want to hide in my bed with junk food, books, and Netflix and retreat from the world and responsibilities. However, I know that hiding in bed really isn't the answer to life's problems. I figured I'd pick up this book and see what Martha and Christin have to say about facing life head on. The back cover says: "Depression, fear, a sense of unworthiness, and unfulfilled dreams can make women retreat to their beds—figuratively and literally—and refuse to face life. Yet most of the time, hiding in bed makes matters worse. Who needs emotional bedsores? Authors Martha Bolton and Christin Ditchfield gently show women how to climb out from under their emotional bedcovers, face their fears and doubts, and step into the l
Read more
Forgiving Our Fathers And Mothers by Leslie Leyland Fields (with Dr. Jill Hubbard) is one of the best books on forgiveness I've read in a long time. Each chapter details a different aspect to the parent/child relationship and need for forgiveness, followed by a word from Dr. Jill and study questions. I really enjoyed this format. It was like getting to the heart of the matter with Leslie, and then visiting a professional psychologist (Dr. Jill) to process your emotions afterward. Leslie uses her own real life story, plus the stories of others who have had difficult relationships with their parents, plus plenty of Scripture, to trace the path to forgiveness and healing. This book really hit home for me. Warning: it will probably make you cry! Leslie's story, as well as all of the others, were alternately emotional, touching, sad, horrifying, and redeeming. I liked how Leslie brought practical tips to questions such as, "Do I have to forgive?", "How do I forgive?
Read more