This book was one of the best stories I have ever read! I've found it difficult to find decent authors who don't fill their books with blood, gore, sex and trash-talk. But this book did not have any of that awful junk. Written from a Christian perspective as Christian fiction, it is as good if not better than any so-called non-christian fiction.

The characters in the story will pull on your heart-strings and leave wanting more.
I think this book would make a great movie, maybe a Hallmark movie or something like that. Read this book! I am telling you, as someone who has trouble finding entertaining, realistic novels -- this book is GREAT~ I love your book! ( )

Let me preface this review by saying that I'm a Christian but I don't often read Christian literature because I find it dull and uninspired. This book is, sadly enough, not an exception. The plot unfolds in a small coastal town in the northwest. The Moore's, a grief-stricken fragment of a family move to Breakers after suffering the loss of two of their members. Doubting their faith and wondering how God could have let this tragedy befall them they learn an unlikely lesson from a no-good teenage drifter.

My biggest beef is that the central protagonists (the Moore's) are stiff and only vaguely characterize automatons at the mercy of the bizarre twists of the ill-conceived plot. The drama in this book can most easily be described as surreal. From scenes as absurd as a fourteen year old girl bludgeoning herself with a stick to falsify evidence for her rape accusation to scenes as grotesque as a teenage boy digging up the bones of his mother after he unlocks a repressed memory of his father murdering her and burying her in the backyard, this book takes the reader on a wild ride that will leave you shaking your head in disbelief.

That said, the doctrine is sound and the author is at her best when she is dealing with real issues of faith and forgiveness. I must admit it was neither preachy nor overly optimistic. Still, she couches it all in such an oddball plot I find it difficult to appreciate. When six regular men come together to blithely discuss a plot to seize and murder a man who they only suspect of petty theft I began to wonder if the entire population of this remote town were sociopaths. The climax of the book came a full sixty pages before the end of the novel which the author used for an overly detailed and arduous tying up of loose ends, most of which could have been summed up in a few lines of dialogue.

I can't say I hated it. I liked it alright. It took a while to get going, it was pretty predictable, and full of jaw-dropping plot decisions that baffle and stagger the mind but ultimately I finished it and some parts weren't that bad. But really, it's just not my cup of tea.

If you want to learn more about the book check out the authors website http://zndr.vn/9NzNMN ( )

NCLA Review -Lakin has created a very thought-provoking, somewhat disturbing, real-life story. The storyline is harsh as you turn pages catching a glimpse of life after the loss of two children. It is easy to identify with Matt and Irene and understand why they pull up roots and move to a small, out-of-the-way town with their teenage daughter and try to begin life anew, existing and not really living. No wonder Matt loses his faith; amazing that Irene clings to God's promises. Then along comes Billy, a downtrodden youngster who has no one but needs someone. The twists and turns of the story surrounding Billy and his numerous rejections from the townspeople are too close for comfort—how easy it is to judge those we don't really know. Lakin does a great job developing the characters. Don't expect to read this book and walk away from it with a light heart. Rating: 3 —PL ( )

It has taken me a while to review this book but I did like it. It was an easy read, meaning I was able to stay interested. Thanks for the opportunity.

I found this book to be extremely difficult to get in to. To me the characters never seemed to fully develop and I had a hard time connecting with any of them. I had to force myself to finish reading this book and just didn't really enjoy it very much. ( )