Halos

HEITZMANN, KRISTEN

HALOS

The halos she glimpsed around the sun was the first sign that this might be it -- the place she was searching for. Filled with hope and promise, Alessi Moore pulls into Charity amidst her first real snowfall. Enraptured by the pure, serene beauty of the little town, she just knows something good is coming.

But her almost heavenly impression is quickly dashed by an unforeseen loss. Left with nothing but the clothes on her back, Alessi is cast into the care of a reluctant party. Yet in a place where nothing could be wrong, darkness sometimes lurks.

WOW!!!! THERE IS SO MUCH I WANT TO SAY ABOUT THIS BOOK I'M NOT SURE WHERE TO START. FIRST OFF, IT WOULD MAKE A GREAT CHRISTMAS READ SINCE IT STARTS A COUPLE OF WEEKS BEFORE CHRISTMAS AND ENDS JUST AFTER CHRISTMAS AND THERE IS AN UNDERLYING MESSAGE OF CHRIST'S LOVE. IN MY MIND IT'S A CHRISTMAS CLASSIC WITH AS MUCH HOLIDAY IMPACT AS IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. IT HAS THAT KIND OF FEEL TO IT. THE WRITING IS EXQUISITELY DESCRIPTIVE -- IT PLAYED LIKE A MOVIE IN MY MIND AS I READ. HERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF HEITZMANN'S SKILL AS A WORDSMITH:

"SO MANY LIVES HAD TOUCHED HERS AND MELTED AWAY, WALK-ONS IN HER MEMORY. BUT THESE PEOPLE WERE SINKING IN."

HEITZMANN IS ALSO SKILLED AT PACING BOTH HER CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND HER PLOT. SHE DOESN'T RUSH HER READERS OR OVERLOAD THEM WITH TOO MUCH INFORMATION. INSTEAD I FOUND MYSELF RELUCTANT TO PUT THE BOOK DOWN BECAUSE I WANTED TO KNOW MORE. WHAT MADE ALESSI AND STEVE REACT TO THINGS THE WAY THEY DID? WHY WAS THE SHERIFF ACTING SO STRANGELY? SOMETIMES THE WHOLE TOWN SEEMED LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE. WHAT WAS GOING ON HERE? HEITZMANN MADE SURE HER READERS STUCK WITH HER TO THE VERY END BY ARTFULLY CRAFTING A BLEND OF FRIENDSHIP, LOVE AND SUSPENSE THAT CONTINUED TO DEVELOP OVER THE COURSE OF THE BOOK.

ALESSI IS OPEN AND LIKABLE AND VULNERABLE AND KIND...ALMOST TOO INNOCENT FOR THIS WORLD. I WAS IMMEDIATELY DRAWN TO HER CHARACTER AND ENJOYED PUTTING TOGETHER THE PIECES OF HER PAST SO I COULD GET TO KNOW HER BETTER. I LOVED HER FREE SPIRIT -- THE PULL SHE HAD TOWARD HALOS OF LIGHT AND HER SURETY THAT THEY FORETOLD SOMETHING GOOD. SHE CREATED A MAGICAL FEEL TO THE STORY -- A BRILLIANT CHRISTMAS SPIRIT THAT ANCHORS EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING ELSE.

STEVE IS A BEAR. GROWLING, CLUMSY, AWKWARD -- WITH A TALENT FOR SAYING THE WRONG THING. AND CYNICAL. HOW DID HE GET TO BE SO CYNICAL? HE IS CRIPPLED BY HIS INABILITY TO WORK THROUGH PAST HURTS. THEY HAVE WARPED HIS MIND, AND WHILE AWARE OF THAT, HE DOESN'T REALLY WANT TO CHANGE...UNTIL ALESSA COMES TO TOWN. AND EVEN THEN, IT'S NOT SO MUCH THAT HE WANTS TO, BUT THAT IT HAPPENS IN SPITE OF HIMSELF, A LITTLE BIT AT A TIME. AGAIN IN HEITZMANN'S WORDS:

"SHE HAD UNLOCKED HIS HEART AND HIDDEN THE KEY IN HER OWN."

THERE IS A POWERFUL CLIMAX THAT PULLED SO MANY EMOTIONS OUT OF ME. FURY, IMPATIENCE, HORROR, DISBELIEF...HOPE, IN JUST A SPAN OF A FEW PAGES AND THEN, ONCE AGAIN WITH SLOW DELIBERATION, HEITZMANN LEADS HER READERS TO AN EMOTIONALLY SATISFYING ENDING.

THIS WOULD MAKE A FANTASTIC BOOK CLUB CHOICE. THERE ARE SO MANY WONDERFUL THREADS WORTHY OF DISCUSSION -- FROM HOW WE VIEW OUR PLACE IN THE WORLD TO HOW LIFE'S HARSHER MOMENTS DEFINE US AS INDIVIDUALS TO EXAMINING CHRIST'S PURPOSE AND WHAT CAPACITY WE ARE SERVING HIM HERE. THERE ARE JUST SO MANY LAYERS TO HALOS, I THINK IT WOULD INITIATE A VERY ANIMATED DISCUSSION! PLUS, IT WAS PUBLISHED IN 2004 SO IT SHOULD BE EASY TO FIND IT AT YOUR PUBLIC LIBRARY TOO WHICH IS ALWAYS A PLUS FOR BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS.