Kathryn Cushman

What would you do if you discovered you weren’t who you thought you were? Sounds impossible right? In Finding Me by Kathryn Cushman, main character Kelly discovers that her father lied to her her entire life. She has a family she thought had died years before when she was an infant. Inspired by two real life stories, Cushman explores the importance of identity and the repercussions when that is turned on its head. There are a number of issues explored in this contemporary women’s fiction — seeking truth regardless of fears/doubts/loss, the importance of finding personal faith, and the dangers of fitting/changing God’s word to suit our circumstances. My book club had a wonderful discussion of this book. We had several favorite characters, as well as some who annoyed us. 😉 Kelly was a relatable character whose emotions rang true. Plus we all had a rest of the story wish for the novel. Finding Me was a thought-provoking read which earned a unanimous thumbs-up!

Recommended.

Audience: Adults.

(I purchased this book from Amazon. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)… (meer)

Ann, a New York City decorator returns to Charlestown, SC for her sister Sarah's Master's graduation. Sarah dies in an accident that evening and Ann is sucked into her circle of friends--of whom we really only meet 4, tho she is said to be well-loved by all who knew her. Ann is still hurting from their mother's abandonment as a young child. She is led by circumstances to a hidden letter her mother wrote saying she never knew Ann's father, and she apologizes for not being able to break free of her addiction, but left the girls with the grandma she knew would love them. That doesn't help open Ann's heart any, but the angel music she has been hearing since Sarah's death, and the comments of the neighbor boy with Down's Syndrome eventually lead her to believe in a caring God. She gets engaged to a friend of Sarah, refuses to trade sexual favors for a chance at a secure job in her field, and refers a good friend who has an ill daughter to a new job when their home agency closes down.
Pretty boring, and over the top with gushing neighborliness. Sometime I'd like to find a novel about angels which doesn't assume a christian focus.… (meer)

First, I want to say that I'm not a big reader of Christan Fiction, it's just a genre that has never really interested me that much. However, I do love Lisa Wingate's Caroline series and I would love to read more books like that. So, I was a bit cautious when I saw that this book was Christan Fiction, and that has nothing to do with Christianity, I'm a Christian myself. I just can't stand reading books that are saccharine and preachy, no matter if it's Christian fiction or just any other kind of book.

So, now that I have gotten that said will I try to explain why this book worked for me on some levels and the things that I had problems with. I did like the book, in a way. I liked that it was easy to read and with a not too complicated story. However, that's also the problem with the book. I felt that the story and the characters lacked depth. It had potentials, but it didn't fulfill it. I found the story about the reclusive Hollywood starlet interesting, but I felt that it could have been given more room, being explored and explained more than it did. I wanted to know more about Charlotte Montgomery and her past. Perhaps some twist to the story. Something that would make the characters come to life.

Then we have the scandal that brought Lauren Summers to Santa Barbara. I don't know if it's just me having a problem with how a wardrobe accident could have her blackballed. I mean just look at the dresses the starlets have nowadays on the red carpet. Here, we have a young woman that is fighting with her parents about having a sexier image and then suddenly she is showing a little much for her parents taste. SCANDAL! This is not nipplegate we are dealing with, some undergarments are showing...

Alright, the complaining is over. I did enjoy reading the book, there were as I stated some things that bothered me, but I found myself enjoying part of the story, sure it was easy to spot the good and the bad girls in this book, but for the moment was it precisely what I needed to read. My favorite parts in the books are everything that has to do with Charlotte Montgomery, she was the one character I came to like the most. I could understand what she had gone through and I loved that she started to see that there are good people in the world.… (meer)