19 January 2017

Plucking One String


From Goodreads:

"Vera Henley has pulled the strings of the Lutheran Ladies Circle for years; now everything has unraveled. A new, young pastor is altering traditions, and the independent Circle women are cheering the changes—all except for Vera. When her high-maintenance, crazy aunt introduces even more rebellion and chaos, Vera must choose which thread of change to pluck—and which to let go."

***



I don’t often go in for contemporary stories, much less Christian contemporary stories--they want to beat you over the head repeatedly with the morality stick and I am quite comfortable in my convictions, thank you very much. But Plucking One String sounded charming, so I gave it a shot.

I am so glad I did. The characters in the Lutheran Ladies Circle feel realistic. There are no stereotypical “wandering single mom” or “overbearing matron” or “mousy single lady” tropes. There are characters who fit that description, but they change. They grow. Their stories move in unexpected ways that delighted me and kept me reading. And the conversations on faith that these lovely ladies had resonated with truth and experience. I found myself nodding along with their sentiments more than once, then later chuckling at the antics of the congregation as they tried to work together. They were so HUMAN. Very much worth the reading time, Plucking One String was reaffirming to my beliefs and made me think more charitably about the people around me. I recommend it.

Gentle Reader Alert: I found nothing of concern.