Tag: sisters

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The All American, by Susie Finkbeiner, 2023, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

The All American
The All American

The All American features two sisters growing up in the 1950s. I love this story, as I can relate to a lot of it, having also grown up in that era. The home economics classes for girls. The etiquette and expectations around ladylike dress and behavior. The books we read. The dread of encroaching communism like it was the devil himself. The ultimate enemy.

This is the second book I’ve read by Susie Finkbeiner. The other one was The Nature of Small Birds. Both are post WWII historical fiction. They encapsulate glimpses into that period, exposing its blind innocence and charm. Zealous Christian Americans staving off the evil commies. Finkbeiner uses fiction to bring to light the blunders that caused hurt and sadness. The hypocrisy of the scared self-righteous. Which, in the end, is not different or better than the opposite political pole of Communism carried too far.

Because it’s not about whether you adhere to right or left-wing politics. It’s about adhering to God our Creator, who made and loves us all, and loving our neighbors, including our enemies. And trusting God as we endure and learn from tragedy. Quote from page 322: “I can’t change the pain, but I can fight to remember the good in everything.

Thanks to Revell for sending me this book at my request. This is my honest review.

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Sisters, by Danielle Steel, 2008, Bantam Dell (Random House)

Sisterly Love

This book is about sisters, their mom, and their dogs. Very, very special relationships. A strong love like no other. Supporting and rooting for each other above all else.

Sisters

As you can see, this particular paperback has been well-loved. It was given to me by my son. He walked 10 kilometers to one of those little free libraries to find it for me, so he was glad to see me happily reading it.

As with the four sisters in this novel, my own sister is the closest person to me, and our mother was very dear to us. As did these sisters, we aspire to honor our mother and the love she had for us and our family.

Though each of these four sisters is very different, their strong, sacrificial love for each other is compelling. They are there for one another through thick and thin. Especially throughout this year of crises that they go through in this story.

The sisters actively support one another through death, blindness, fame, boyfriends, false relationships, rape, romance and dogs.

I don’t want to give away any spoilers, in case you wish to read it. I recommend it for you if you can relate to sisterly love, or any type of family love. In the mix of the story are themes of death, blindness, fame, boyfriends, false relationships, rape, romance, and dogs.

Although it deals with heavy topics, I found it a light read, and read the 400 pages within a week. LOL incidents are sprinkled in for flavor. A particularly amusing bit for me, was when one of the sisters, who in her mid thirties has given up hope of finding a good man, meets a born-again Christian. He’s been divorced four times and has seven children. The caps on his teeth are the size of chicklets and he has a woven-in hairpiece. He keeps asking her if she’s found Jesus, and she wonders where he went, thinking ‘Hasn’t he been here all along?’. Hehe. Other amusing scenes center around other character descriptions and incidents, especially to do with the dogs.

Thanks, Nathaniel. I look forward to reading the other books you found for me too. As the mother in the story loved her four daughters, I love you and your brother. As this mother said, that their sisters were the best gift she could give her daughters, the best gift I could give you and Paul was each other.

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