The Sweet By and By by Sara Evans with Rachel Hauck

As a writer myself who has tried writing fiction and found it personally challenging, I find myself routing for any author of a first novel.  While Sara Evan’s The Sweet By and By was not quite the home-run I was hoping for, it was a noteworthy effort and an entertaining read.

The plot for this novel is an often used, but interesting story of relational strain between a mother and her daughter.  Beryl, a middle-aged, many-times married mother of three decides to attend her daughter’s wedding, even though there has been years of silence between them.  Her daughter, Jade, is buried in resentment for the many years her mother left her at home to follow one boyfriend after another.  Jade is also drowning in her own pain and guilt from decisions she made in her past.

The Sweet By and By is a story about forgiveness and redemption, with a one-step-up-from-subtle parallel to the forgiveness and grace that Jesus offers to us all.  My personal feeling is that the story started out a bit too slowly and ended a bit too abruptly.  However, it effectively illustrated just how long and far-reaching pain, guilt, and resentment can go, and how destructive it can be to our hearts and our relationships.  I gave this book 3 1/2 stars and give the author applause for a good first novel.

 You can check out the details of this book and order it at Thomas Nelson Publishers, where I am a Book Review Blogger - http://brb.thomasnelson.com/.