“Then you must walk in the light. No good comes under cloak of darkness.”
What an incredible debut novel by Valerie Fraser Luesse! And to think this is her first venture into the fiction world! I can’t wait to read more of her work. Missing Isaac is such a poignant story, layered with a heart-wrenching plot and plenty of heartbreaks, beautiful and memorable characters that settle into your soul, and plenty of solid spiritual truths. Ms. Luesse is truly a gifted storyteller whose dialogue is real and tangible, so much so that I could almost hear the voices and see the emotions during the conversations. I have not read much fiction set in the south during the 1960s, but this book brought the town of Glory, Alabama during the 60s to life vividly and I felt myself grow up and mature with Pete McLean.
The book opens up with Pete McLean at the age of twelve as he suffers an awful family tragedy. He slowly becomes a young man with guidance from his mother, his grandfather, and his friend Isaac. When Isaac goes missing, Pete does his best to try to find him and, in his wanderings, he discovers Dovey, a girl from a family who has been self-exiled and ostracized by the townspeople. Pete is a good boy, raised to respect his elders and fear his God, born to love and protect and work hard, always understanding right from wrong. Dovey is a sensitive soul, also hurting from a heartbreaking family tragedy. She’s lonely, like Pete, but has a good head on her shoulders with lots of common sense and faith. Their friendship grows, which inadvertently brings their two families together. There is much history between the two families that the teenagers don’t know about and the history is slowly released in the plot like a fragrant flower blooming. In the midst of Pete and Dovey growing up, the mystery of Isaac’s whereabouts still lingers but does come to a conclusion in the end. The book addresses so much more than just the growing up of two wonderful kids and their sweet, innocent love; it speaks about racism, our prejudices that color our vision, the hate and anger our sinful nature produces, and the grace of our Savior that can wash away all that ugliness.
This is one of those books that I will keep thinking about for many weeks to come.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through BookishFirst. I was not required to write a favorable review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.
What an incredible debut novel by Valerie Fraser Luesse! And to think this is her first venture into the fiction world! I can’t wait to read more of her work. Missing Isaac is such a poignant story, layered with a heart-wrenching plot and plenty of heartbreaks, beautiful and memorable characters that settle into your soul, and plenty of solid spiritual truths. Ms. Luesse is truly a gifted storyteller whose dialogue is real and tangible, so much so that I could almost hear the voices and see the emotions during the conversations. I have not read much fiction set in the south during the 1960s, but this book brought the town of Glory, Alabama during the 60s to life vividly and I felt myself grow up and mature with Pete McLean.
The book opens up with Pete McLean at the age of twelve as he suffers an awful family tragedy. He slowly becomes a young man with guidance from his mother, his grandfather, and his friend Isaac. When Isaac goes missing, Pete does his best to try to find him and, in his wanderings, he discovers Dovey, a girl from a family who has been self-exiled and ostracized by the townspeople. Pete is a good boy, raised to respect his elders and fear his God, born to love and protect and work hard, always understanding right from wrong. Dovey is a sensitive soul, also hurting from a heartbreaking family tragedy. She’s lonely, like Pete, but has a good head on her shoulders with lots of common sense and faith. Their friendship grows, which inadvertently brings their two families together. There is much history between the two families that the teenagers don’t know about and the history is slowly released in the plot like a fragrant flower blooming. In the midst of Pete and Dovey growing up, the mystery of Isaac’s whereabouts still lingers but does come to a conclusion in the end. The book addresses so much more than just the growing up of two wonderful kids and their sweet, innocent love; it speaks about racism, our prejudices that color our vision, the hate and anger our sinful nature produces, and the grace of our Savior that can wash away all that ugliness.
This is one of those books that I will keep thinking about for many weeks to come.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through BookishFirst. I was not required to write a favorable review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.