Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

new fiction

Why I’m worried you won’t read this book: Review of Light From Distant Stars by Shawn Smucker

I have to be honest: I’m having a hard time figuring out how to tell you about Light From Distant Stars by Shawn Smucker. And that’s not because I didn’t like it. I loved it. It’s unique and captivating and I couldn’t put it down.

I just can’t guarantee you’re going to love it as much as I did, and that makes me uncomfortable. I want you to love this book, but it’s an unusual story, and it leaves some questions unanswered. It’s like life in that way. Not everything is explained or neatly wrapped with a bow on it at the end. This is not a flaw of the story but part of its beauty.

Still, we readers can be fickle when it comes to unanswered questions. So I’m worried you’ll avoid this book.

I’m going to try my best to convince you otherwise, anyway.

From the first line, pictured below, I was hooked.

Light From Distant Stars is a tad bit eerie but not necessarily scary. It’s haunting but not in a ghosty kind of way. I don’t know if any of this is making you want to read it, so let me just say that I started the book thinking one thing and by page 35, the book was headed in another direction completely, and if I wasn’t already interested in the story, I’d have wanted to keep reading to find out where it was headed.

The book jumps back and forth between present day and Cohen’s childhood. In some stories this can be jarring but I found the transitions seamless in this book. I was never unsure which timeline I was reading about and I was never left hanging for too long from one time period to the other.

If you’re looking for something different, this is the book for you. Just remember that it might not answer all of your questions to your satisfaction. It is like life in that way. Maybe I enjoyed this book because I no longer need as much certainty as I used to. Or maybe I just appreciate a book and an author that is willing to be different from the norm.

Shawn Smucker is one of my absolute favorite storytellers. (You can read reviews of his other books I’ve read here, here, and here.) He has a way with words and themes that inspires my own writing, and I’ve been cheering on his writing for years now.

When I read a new author or an author I haven’t read before, I want a guarantee that the story is going to be good. I have too many books to read to spend time with a story that isn’t. So, I’ll understand if this book sounds too risky to take a chance on. But I hope you’ll be brave and give it a chance.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher. Review reflects my honest opinion.

Hope & the end of the world: Review of The Alliance by Jolina Petersheim

Two words I never thought I’d put together in a book review: Amish and apocalypse. But here we are with The Alliance by Jolina Petersheim. I should note that the Plain community in this novel is Old Order Mennonite, not Amish, though the two have similarities. And it really is set when the world, as we know it, ends. (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book through the Tyndale Blog Network in exchange for my review.) alliance

When a small plane crashes in Leora Ebersole’s Plain community in Montana, it’s clear that something major has happened in the world. The pilot, Moses Hughes, reveals that an epic power outage is the reason for the stranded Englischers and the lack of electricity. As the Old Order Mennonite community becomes a refuge, the two groups must decide if they can work together to stay alive while navigating their differing beliefs about pacifism and protection.

This is not a “Walking Dead” kind of apocalyptic story, but it does raise challenging questions about how far a person is willing to deviate from their beliefs in order to save those they love. My only disappointment is that I didn’t know there is a second, forthcoming book, in this series. So, the end is not exactly the end. I’m eager to learn more about the lives of Leora and Moses as the end of the world as they know it intensifies.

Petersheim is a gifted wordsmith, and her tone throughout the novel is one of hope despite circumstances. The Alliance is such a rare read. I don’t know of another book of its kind. I don’t usually read apocalyptic novels, but this one I can wholeheartedly recommend.