This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingStill Life in ShadowsRiver North; New Edition edition (August 1, 2012)byAlice WislerABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Alice was born in Osaka, Japan in the sixties. Her parents were Presbyterian career missionaries. As a young child, Alice loved to walk down to the local stationer’s store to buy notebooks, pencils and scented erasers. In her room, she created stories. The desire to be a published famous author has never left her. Well, two out of three isn’t bad. She’s the author of Rain Song, How Sweet It Is, Hatteras Girl and A Wedding Invitation (all published by Bethany House).
Alice went to Eastern Mennonite University after graduating from Canadian Academy, an international high school in Kobe, Japan. She majored in social work and has worked across the U.S. in that field. She taught ESL (English as a Second Language) in Japan and at a refugee camp in the Philippines. She also studied Spanish at a language institute in San Jose, Costa Rica.
She has four children–Rachel, Daniel, Benjamin and Elizabeth. Daniel died on 2/2/97 from cancer treatments at the age of four. Since then, Alice founded Daniel’s House Publications in her son’s memory. This organization reaches out to others who have also lost a child to death. In 2000 and 2003, Alice compiled recipes and memories of children across the world to publish two memorial cookbooks, Slices of Sunlight and Down the Cereal Aisle.
ABOUT THE BOOK
It’s been fifteen years since Gideon Miller ran away from his Amish community in Carlisle, Pennsylvania as a boy of fifteen. Gideon arrives in the Smoky Mountains town of Twin Branches and settles in at the local auto mechanic’s garage. He meets a host of interesting characters -the most recent acquaintances are Kiki, an autistic teen, and her sister Mari. Known as the “Getaway Savior” he helps other Amish boys and girls relocate to life in modern America.
One day the phone rings. On the other end is his brother Moriah calling from Florida. Of course Gideon welcomes his brother to stay with him and offers him a job. But Moriah is caught in a web which ends in his death and forces Gideon to return to the town of his youth, with his brother’s body in the back of a hearse and Mari and Kiki at his side. He must face not only the community he ran away from years ago but also his own web of bitterness. Will he be able to give his anger over to God and forgive his father?
If you would like to read the first chapter excerpt of Still Life in Shadows, go HERE.
My Thoughts on this Book!
Still Life in Shadows deals with the Amish life in a little difference twist than just their everyday plain life. What happens when one of their own decides to jump the fence and chance over to the English ways? And what will happen if they return home? Thats what happened to Gideon Miller in this story. Author Alice Wisler creates a cast of realistic and interesting characters that really develop well as the story unfolds, drawing them to the reader in a special way. And the twists and turns throughout the story is enough to keep us turning the pages.
I really like Gideon, he’s just an amish guy that wanted a way out of his plain upbringing, and he found that. But he never really was happy. Even though he made a life for himself in the world, he had a lot of past secrets he had to deal with. I’ve often wondered how a person could leave an Amish life and never look back, but maybe they don’t. Maybe in their private life, they never get over the way they were raised. And it would have to be horrible leaving such a close family. Ms. Wisler show us these changes in this very well written and intriuging book, Still Live In Shadows.
I encourage you to pick up a copy to for your own reading enjoyment.
This book was provided by Bethany House through Christian Fiction Blog Alliance. I was not required or expected to give a positive review. The
opinions in this review are mine only
splashesofjoy 