One generation should teach the next. Sometimes that
teaching isn’t done in the traditional form of speaking and sometimes those
words come to us in the form of letters never immediately intended to affect our
lives.
Words
are so powerful. I’m constantly in awe of the potency they can have echoing
down through the ages. Tandi has so much growing up to do in “The Prayer Box”.
I couldn’t help but be a bit frustrated with her at times, but to watch her
mature and change into the woman she is called to be was a great part of the
story. Done with subtlety and yet depth so you couldn’t help but watch her
blossom and deepen.
I
really loved the letters shared throughout the entire book. It was the strong
reason I choose to review the book and they didn’t disappoint. They add a
dimension to the story that takes the reader from the past to the present and
back again.
Characters
are compelling and interesting and the story flows with a sense of interest for
this reader. If anything, the story itself might have been a bit drawn out and
overlong, but the telling in and of itself is enjoyable and fulfilling.
This
review is my honest opinion. Thanks to the publishers for my copy to review.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
More about the novel...
When Iola Anne Poole, an old-timer on Hatteras Island, passes away in her bed at ninety-one, th
e struggling young mother in her rental cottage, Tandi Jo Reese, finds herself charged with the task of cleaning out Iola's rambling Victorian house.
Running from a messy, dangerous past, Tandi never expects to find more than a temporary hiding place within Iola's walls, but everything changes with the discovery of eighty-one carefully decorated prayer boxes, one for each year, spanning from Iola's youth to her last days. Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paper--the hopes and wishes, fears and thoughts of an unassuming but complex woman passing through the seasons of an extraordinary, unsung life filled with journeys of faith, observations on love, and one final lesson that could change everything for Tandi.