Wanted: a Family

DEAN, JEAN

WANTED: A FAMILY

The ramshackle Victorian house is all that widowed mother-to-be Callie Mitchell has left. But she's going to make that house into a true home -- a home where she and her baby will be safe and happy...and where women in need can find refuge. And if that means trusting stranger Jacob Smith to help with the repairs, then so be it.

Jacob came to town with a handful of old postcards and one goal in mind -- to find the mother who'd abandoned him years before. He never planned to stay...and he certainly never planned to care for Callie. Yet as they rebuild the house together, Jacob and Callie also build the family they've always wanted.

DEAN CERTAINLY KNOWS HOW TO DRAW AN EMOTIONAL RESPONSE OUT OF HER READERS! I RAN A GAMUT OF THEM AS I READ WANTED: A FAMILY. IN FACT I WAS THE SPITTING-NAILS-KIND-OF-MAD AT SOME POINTS IN THE STORY. SO MUCH SO THAT I HAD TO STAND AND PACE WHILE I READ! LOL. THERE'S A POWERFUL MESSAGE PACKED IN THE PAGES OF THIS BOOK AND IT PROVED TO BE A THOUGHT-PROVOKING READ. ISSUES DEALING WITH JUDGEMENT AND WHAT 'GRACE' MEANS AND WHO IT IS APPLIED TO IS JUST AS TIMELY NOW AS IN THE HISTORICAL PERIOD THIS BOOK WAS SET IN. KUDOS TO DEAN FOR TACKLING SUCH AN IMPORTANT AND CONTROVERSIAL TOPIC.

I LOVED THE PACING IN THE WANTED: A FAMILY. THERE ARE BEAUTIFUL, UNHURRIED SCENES THAT DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS AND PLOT BUT WHEN TENSION BUILDS, DEAN'S WORDS BUILD INTO A TORRENT AND THE ACTION SPILLS OFF THE PAGE. AND THE AUTHOR ADDS A VERY IMAGINATIVE PLOT TWIST THAT TURNS THE LAST FEW CHAPTERS INTO PAGE-TURNING SUSPENSE.

AS A BOOK CLUB SELECTION THERE'S LOTS OF SCOPE FOR IMAGINATION. SO MANY WAYS FOR A DISCUSSION TO GO -- ESPECIALLY ON VALUING INDIVIDUALS, NOT BEING QUICK TO JUDGE, OPENING OUR HEARTS TO THE TRUE MEAN OF GOD'S GRACE. LOT OF SCOPE FOR PERSONAL REFLECTION AS WELL. THIS IS A GREAT BOOK THAT DEFINITELY BELONGS ON KEEPER SHELVES EVERYWHERE!

For a chance to win this book and three other Love Inspired titles PLUS some genuine Canadian goodies (edible and otherwise) all in one lovely package -- leave a comment at inkspirationalmessages.com any time today. We're blogging about Reality TV and I'm talking about the show Say Yes to the Dress. Winner will be announced this Sunday, March 27 on the inkspirationalmessages blog.