Lisa McKay

You Can Still Wear Cute Shoes by Lisa McKay
With openness that I did not fully expect Lisa McKay puts into words the very things that most pastor’s wives never speak out loud! This was a great an easy read. Her down-to-earth style was refreshing and enjoyable. Lisa explores the unspoken fears and concerns facing most wives of men in ministry. With encouragement to be who we are created to be – individuals. Too often a Pastor’s wife feels pressure to fit a certain mold – you must be able to sing in the choir, play the piano, visit the shut-ins, be a good cook, and have children that are so perfect they seem fake. I haven’t met too many Pastor’s wives that haven’t felt this way. I applaud Lisa’s ability to encourage wives of ministers to be who God created them to be – to hold God as our highest standard and allow him to guide us in our unique talents to best serve in the ministry. If you want to gift your Pastor’s wife and encourage her by acknowledging her as an individual this is a great book to give.
Thank you B&B Media Group, Inc. and Cook Communications for providing this book for review.
For author interviews contact B&B Media Group. 1-800-927-0517 EXT. 104, 106, or 109
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Lisa McKay’s debut novel (re-released in 2018) My Hands Came Away Red, takes the reader from the highs of a mission trip to a beautiful and exotic locale to horror, fear, and anger at God. This powerful YA suspense novel is achingly beautiful in its depiction of 6 young westerners forced to rely on each other to survive a nightmare in Indonesia. The author describes her book as a work of passion, and that comes through loud and clear in the first person narrative that takes the reader on an emotional journey along with the characters. And even though I am far away from my YA years, I loved this book. It is a very highly recommended read.

Cori is confused about her life — relationships, college choices — when she embarks on a grueling mission trip to build a church in a remote part of the world. Boot camp bonds the team and prepares them for their challenging task — or so they thought. Following the victory of finishing the small village church comes the devastation of death and destruction the team could never imagine. Cori’s narrative describes the highs and lows the team faces, along with the changes in their own understanding of life and God. The characters are all well-developed and become so very real to the reader. Of course Cori is the main focus, but McKay does a great job of bringing all the characters to life. There is plenty of drama, suspense, danger, and life-and-death moments to keep the pages turning. But it is the faith journey that the characters are forced to take that spoke to my heart. As the team’s situation deteriorates through illness, fatigue, dehydration, etc., their faith in God suffers as well. It is hard to maintain thankfulness and forgiveness when faced with extreme privation. And even the return to the safety of home does not bring the healing they expect.

There is a lot to discuss in My Hands Came Away Red, making this novel a great choice for a youth group or book club. It is a great springboard for conversations about the plight of believers around the world, the real meaning of a missional life, and the faithfulness of God even when we can’t or won’t see it. And don’t let the YA label fool you, adults are going to love this one too.

Very Highly Recommended.

Audience: older teens and adults.… (plus d'informations)

I need to reveal two things here at the beginning. First, I generally loathe Christian fiction. Check that - I generally despise fiction that is published by Christian publishing houses. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe I find the stories too tame, unrealistic, or cliche. Maybe I prefer novels with more subtle Christian undercurrents like The Hobbit, Out of the Silent Planet, Peace Like a River, etc. Maybe (and more probably) this is just part of my general reaction against the profit-making machine that is the Christian subculture. So a natural question would be, "Why in the world did you read this book published by Moody?" That leads me to my next point.

Second, when Alida (my wife) and I moved out to Southern California we had a hard time finding a church. When we finally did we put down roots in an adult education class at Lake Avenue Church called Crossroads. During one of our first visits we met this very interesting and intelligent young woman named Lisa. She helped us feel welcome in the class and held our interest with her funny banter and Australian accent. We became friends very quickly. Well, after some time had passed we discovered that among other things Lisa was an author and that her first book was going to be published by Moody. Therefore, we simply had to read it! So my opinion of Lisa's book is clearly biased but I want to share it with you anyway!

So this book centers around a quirky girl named Cori who decides to go on a mission trip. Her adventure leads her to Indonesia, where she and her new mission-trip friends assist a church there in various ways, including through the construction of a new building. Unfortunately for the characters (but fortunately for the readers) all hell breaks loose as these teenagers find themselves in the crossfire of the religio-political battle between Islamic and Christian factions in Indonesia. Just as the building they work so hard to erect is burned to the ground, their psyches are smashed to pieces due to the horrors they see and experience. The characters are forced to rely on one another and God as they attempt to find their way back to their homes.

My honest opinion of the book is that it was a fascinating and fast read. Sometimes when you hear that a book is a page-turner you might think that it must be light, beach reading or something like that. My Hands is certainly not a light read! In fact, the book and its themes have weighed on me for quite some time (it probably didn't help that I read this book shortly after returning from a mission trip to Cambodia!). However, the way that Lisa builds the tension in the story makes the reader want to discover the fate of these kids. Therefore, I found myself up at ungodly hours reading this book when we all know that I should be getting my beauty sleep!

Another major strength of the book is the honesty that Lisa exhibits as she navigates the sensitive political and religious terrain of Indonesia. From my limited exposure to Christian fiction this is the exception, not the rule. In our post-9/11 world, painting Muslims, even fundamentalist Muslims, in a negative light is not only easy but seems to be popular. The reader of My Hands can plainly see that Lisa attempts to enlighten the reader to the long-lived religious drama that has rocked Indonesia's world for decades.

All in all, you should read this book if you have time...and I'm not just saying that because I think that Lisa is awesome (which she is by the way)! No, I say that because she has penned a first-rate novel!

Originally posted here: http://inthecornerwithmatt.blogspot.com/2009/05/novel-review-my-hands-came-away-... .… (plus d'informations)