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| Faith Readers Book Club (we were missing some) |
First off, let me say a big thank you to Marji Laine for awarding me with the Versatile blogger award Yay! I blame it on my MPD and so do I! Me too!
I’ll follow the rules for it on Friday. Now, on with the show this is it!
I love books! I love talking about books. And that’s why I enjoy Faith Readers! An inspirational fiction, book club. Forming friendships through faith and fiction.
We kicked our first book off with Christa Allan’s the Edge of Grace. A book that will definitely make you talk!
Dunkin Donuts, homemade desserts and coffee, along with our cool Cornerstone Church Cafe made for great food & atmosphere. So many women, all ages, various backgrounds. I wasn’t sure what everyone would think.
After some dessert, we set up skype and had the chance to chat with the lovely Christa Allan. She made us feel at home by telling us up front that there was nothing we couldn’t ask or say to her.
Her book is controversial and I’ve never read anything like it in the Christian market. (CBA) The big question was:
“Can you be gay and be a Christian?”
Many answers came to that question!
“Absolutely not.” “It’s rebellion.” “I don’t know.” “Yes.” “I think you can, just like you can have sex outside of marriage and be straight, you still love God, but you struggle.” “We’re not supposed to judge.”
These are just some of the answers among our book club.
I asked, “Would you ladies recommend this book?”
One said, “I already gave mine away. A lady is dealing with an issue like this in her life, and starting a book club at her church. I thought this would be good for her.”
Another said, “No. I didn’t agree with the issue and I didn’t particularly like the main character; I thought she was whiny.”
A reply came. “Wouldn’t you be whiny if you found out your brother was gay, you lost your husband to death, and you could barely pay bills?”
“I think that was the point, ” another said. “She whined about her brother because how it affected her. Everything revolved around her, but she evolved toward the end. We have a hard time loving people because we’re selfish.”
“I would recommend the book because this kind of issue isn’t going to go away. It needs to be out there for us to discuss.”
“We need these kinds of books! As Christians, we don’t have anguish for the lost, and we need these books to remind us to love.”
What did you take away from this book?
“I had more compassion for homosexuals than before.”
“I’m still confused.”
What are some things you liked about the book?
“I liked that she didn’t stereotype them. The brother and his partner watched football and didn’t act like we assume they would. They were regular guys.”
Did the question get answered? No. Did we express our opinions and have a great time doing it? Yes!
Bottom line is this, the main character, Caryn, had a choice: Never speak to her brother again, never darken his door or…love him unconditionally.
Christa said she had to come to terms with the fact that her own brother wasn’t going to stop being gay. He just wasn’t. So she chose to love him anyway. That’s what Caryn, the main character chose to do too.
In a controversial, yet touching novel, Christa Allan weaves a story of love, forgiveness, and family. Even if it isn’t the family that the main character asked for. Her wit and humor was exactly what you expect out of her, if you’ve read her debut novel, Walking On Broken Glass. Spot on.
It’s a book that will make you stop and think, pray, and remind you that people are people and they deserve agape love, no matter what they look like, or which sex they prefer.
You can analyze it all day long (and we did): Are they born that way? Were they molested? Did they have a bad home life? You think they have too much testosterone or estrogen? And so forth and so on.
And at the end of all that debate, when answers did not come, it boiled down to one simple word: LOVE.
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| Christa Allan |
Here’s the back cover:
“An early morning call shatters Caryn Becker’s world. Unable to cope with her brother’s news that he is gay, Caryn rejects him and disappears into her own turbulent life as a young widow and single mom. But when David is attacked and nearly killed, Caryn is forced to make hard choices about family, faith, and her own future; choices that take her to the very edge of grace.”
Care to weigh in with your thoughts, opinions, or experiences? And, have you read the Edge of Grace?
*We chose The Chair by James Rubart as our October book!
This has to be one of the coolest reviews I've ever read. Obviously this is an amazing book club book!
I have this book waiting for me on my Kindle. I'm looking forward to reading it.
I can imagine the controversy such a book could spark. Dunkin Donuts and books? Sounds like my kind of club!
Wish I was in your book club. I confess I'm confused and I'm called to love. I have a sister who is gay and is a Christian.
So I'm really in the heart of it. Glad Christa started this dialogue among Christians.
~ Wendy
The book sounds good. I put it on my TBR list.
Great review!
Once again, I accidentally left a comment as someone else since I was on my office computer. 🙂 Oops! But here's what I originally said:
I so appreciate your review and Christa Allan's book. I think she did a wonderful job handling a sensitive subject…and I can very much appreciate a book that doesn't necessarily offer all the answers, but instead gets me thinking…
I also love what Wendy said: "confused but called to love."
Your book club sounds like a blast!
would have been a NEAT discussion to be a part of … move to my area, won't ya?
This book is already on my Kindle…I just need time to read it. 🙂
phew…deep subject and lots of controversy on that subject. I think that I have this book on my Kindle. I need to check it out. Wish I was close enough, I'd join your book club! 😉
Thanks, Jessica for having the courage to choose my novel for your first read. You were a great group, and I felt humbled to be invited. Your honesty is appreciated.
And thanks to Jessica's peeps for stopping by!
Blessings…
Wow, it sounds like a really meaty book!! I love that and that you have a book club to talk about the book in. I'm glad a Christian author tackled this subject. It's out there and should be discussed.
I absolutely love the honesty and creativity of this review!!! WOW. Thanks, Jessica! The book sounds intriguing and I agree that what causes someone to be gay is much less important than we think. God commands us to love. He boils it down pretty clear for us.
I might pick this book up and am glad I'll have a good idea of what to expect. Thanks!