Caroline Kellems

Author: Caroline Kellems
Publisher: Grand Canyon Press
Thank you to A Library Thing for this book.

Caroline Kellems writes a wonderful book about a family who moves to Guatamala to become missionaries.

Phil decides to go to Guatemala to be a missionary. Phil, Katherine and the kids pack up everything and move to Guatemala from comfortable Indiana. Katherine and the kids must now learn to adapt to this whole new lifestyle which is not very easy. As Phil and Katherine set out to spread the work of GOD and all doesn’t go as planned. Their house is broken into and then they end up moving to another house. This new house seems so wonderful in the beginning but after a while they realized how sinister it really is.

This is their story of a new life of adventure, love, loyalty and human relationships.
Caroline Kellem, who also happens to live in Guatamala, has written a beautiful book and the descriptions of Guatemala are fantastic. If you are a spiritual person this book is for you.… (plus d'informations)

I wanted to like this book so much. I was hopeful after reading the author's bio. She obviously is familiar with the area and has respect for the culture and people who live in Mexico and Guatemala. The history of the Highland people in Guatemala has been suffused with violence and terror since the early 1980s to the present. I was even initially confused about what time period we were looking at because the main characters seemed oblivious to the history and culture of the area. The missionary husband assumed he could migrate his middle-class non-Spanish-speaking family with no money, land the plane and convert the local people to their evangelical faith? No Poisonwood Bible here. But maybe enough for the description of marriage and divorce fiction.
The book has also been described as Hispanic/American literature, and a mystery/thriller. This book is a mystery and a thriller. I wanted to know the fate of this family under the control of a Mexican drug trafficker. So as far as that storyline went, I was entertained.
As for Hispanic American literature, I wouldn't call it that. The novel reads like Romance with a capital R. Setting a love story in the midst of an area that has been fraught with 50 years of violence and terror affecting indigenous people of the Guatemalan highlands for the last 50 years between a naïve wife of a clueless pastor and a sauve drug trafficker who kills anyone who gets in his way does not make Hispanic literature in my view. Nor even a convincing love story. There just wasn't enough depth to earn a convincing, love relationship. The clash of values was just too great. Which ironically made the end of this novel that read like YA fiction, a successful bowtie ending.… (plus d'informations)

The Poppy Field is a captivating story of religion, crime, deceit, and family. In my opinion, the book goes through slow periods that don't do much for the plot, but overall, this is a fun read with twists and turns. I personally had a hard time connecting with some of the characters, which made it hard to root for them in the plot. Generally, the family story and sibling connection is fun to read about and similar to many family dynamics. It did feel like the plot built and built for an epic climax, but when we finally reached the peak of the story, things were resolved quickly and without much explanation. MY favorite parts of the books were the parts related to crime, mystery, the drug trade, and subtle hints of deception and trickery. I did not connect with the religious messaging and did find it a bit off putting. Overall, this book definitely appeals to people looking for a religious, crime romance dynamic with twists and lots of imagery.… (plus d'informations)