Written by Neta Jackson
Published at Thomas Nelson
About the book
Sometimes the person you most need is the one least like you.
Kathryn Davies is a bright young woman form a prominent Phoenix family. But after making a leap of faith at a Christian music fest, dropping out of med school, and moving to inner city Chicago, her family all but disowns her.
When Kat discovers SouledOut Community Church, she longs to become a part of the multicultural church family. But her tendency to immediately say whatever she’s thinking steps on the toes of nearly everyone she meets—especially Avis Douglass.
Avis has a strong faith, is the principal of one of Chicago’s highest performing elementary schools, and is a founding member of SouledOut. But the country’s economic downturn has thrown both her and her husband’s jobs in question. And Avis hasn’t heard from her youngest daughter in months—an estrangement that gnaws at her every day. Where is God in this?
Kat’s flamboyant zeal for living a “radical” Christian life is a stark contrast to Avis’s more reserved faith. But in God’s timing, the two women discover they need each other in ways neither of them expected.
Who is Neta Jackson?
Neta Jackson's award-winning Yada books have sold more than 400,000 copies and are spawning prayer groups across the country. She and her husband, Dave, are also an award-winning writing team, best known for the Trailblazer Books—a 40-volume series of historical fiction about great Christian heroes with 1.5 million in sales—and Hero Tales: A Family Treasury of True Stories from the Lives of Christian Heroes (vols 1-4). They live in the Chicago metropolitan area, where the Yada stories are set.
My Thoughts
I first encountered Neta Jackson’s writing when I discovered the Yada Yada series a few years back. I got immediately hooked on her way of writing and embraced her characters. So when I had the opportunity to review her book from her third serie, I immediately jumped out even though I haven’t read her second series of books “A Yada Yada House of Hope novels”. I even got the Hero Tales – A Family Treasury of True Stories from the Lives of Christian Heroes which are an absolute must for homeschoolers!
Through the pages of this book, I reconnected with beloved characters that I missed as well as discovered new ones that I learned to love. Neta Jackson writes so beautifully that the characters come to life literally under your eyes and they live what you and I could live as well. This time you get introduce to new characters in the four students from the university who start to attend services at SouledOut the church where some of the characters in Yada Yada attend in Chicago. I enjoined discovering how their lives get intertwined and how the author is making them so real.
I couldn’t put the book down as I wanted to know what would happen. And now that I have finished it, I am left with wanting more. I’m sure the author has more to write about these characters but the fact that I have to wait for the next installment is partly killing me (not literally of course!). I wasn’t disappointed when I started reading Stand By Me because I immediately recognize her style of writing and remember why I so loved her books. The book is packed with events that will shake your core and you will see how the characters turn their faith toward God – whether they are new Christians or older ones.
If you haven’t read the Yada Yada series, it’s not a problem as this book can be read independently but I can tell you that once you will have finished this book, you will want to discover what happened previously. How do I know? Well remember I mentioned that I haven’t read the Yada Yada House of Hope series yet? I had the first book sitting on my self for a couple of years now… I know. I know. It’s a shame. But with reviewing books/products as well as homeschooling my kids, I didn’t have time to read for pleasure. While reading the Stand By Me novel I realized that I miss these beloved characters and wanted to know what happened in between the two series. Since I have the first book in the Yada Yada House of Hope series, I’ve decided to discover what has transpired in their lives in the past couple of years. So I am now catching up with the characters and discovering new ones as well. Stand By Me is a delightful novel that is worth reading. This book is stirring my soul to try to put a Yada Yada group together as well. I am still pondering with this idea as I would love to have a group of women I can get together once a month to pray and share our lives with.
Thank you Neta Jackson for writing more about beloved characters and I pray you will continue developing their lives for our eyes.
Stand By Me is available at your favorite bookstore, even amazon.ca.
Disclaimer: Thanks to Thomas Nelson and B&B Media for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.
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