Featured books

Featured Websites

.: Reader Views Kids

Provides book reviews, by kids, for kids

.: Inside Scoop Live

Provides live author interviews for podcast

.: Authors Access

Provides interviews with experts in the publishing industry

.: Midwest Book Review

Provides post-publication reviews

.: Reader Views

Provides book reviews and author publicity

.: LR Communication Design

Provides professional website design and development

.: Blogging Authors

Provides a place where writers and readers meet

.: Review The Book

Provides 5 books reviews on 10 different sites

.: Best Sellers World

Provides book reviews and author features

.: Feathered Quill Book Reviews

Provides book reviews and author features

reviews

Saints in the City

Andie Andrews
Outskirts Press (2008)
ISBN 9781432711047
Reviewed by Tina Avon for RebeccasReads (1/09)

Saints in the City, written by Andie Andrews, introduces us to Helen Baldwin; she is the young wife of a Baptist preacher who has been asked to set up a new church in New Jersey.  Helen, feeling completely out of her element, decides to make her contribution by working in the local soup kitchen.

Through the actions and thoughts of Helen, the author takes us through a journey of discovery that joins the spiritual with the nitty-gritty of everyday life.  Through the narration of St-Francis of Assisi, we are privy to what we all wish we listened to more often: "that little voice."  Indeed, throughout the novel, we meet many of Helen's "guardian angels" in the form of many of the saints in the bible.

This technique of using narrators was the most interesting part of the book for me. I have often been told that every time I do something, I should ask myself "would you do this if the god of your understanding was standing right next to you and watching you do it?"  This has always been an interesting question to me and I kept thinking about it as I read the book.

Helen is obviously struggling with her inner issues.  But, she is also trying to do a certain amount of "good" in the world and feels at home at the soup kitchen.  No good intention goes unpunished, however, and while Helen hopes to find serenity and joy helping others, she ends up meeting a man that will make her question everything she has always believed to be right.  Throughout her struggles, we find Helen's guardian angels are there to help her and guide her, if only she is willing to listen.

This book is a very interesting mixture of spirituality, religion, moral commentary and fiction.  This is extremely tricky to write about and I think the author did a good job in finding her voice, although, at times, I felt that the Helen character was a bit too vanilla, she tended to be lost among all of the stronger characters in this novel.

I did enjoy the author's beautiful writing style.  Her prose is full of imagery and I thought it add a wonderful touch of mystic to the book.

 The messages in this novel come out loud and clear and, for the most part, I thought this was a good read.  This is, however, a very hard book to read and I thought was quite heavy handed at times.  There were also a large number of minor characters here and it was a bit of a challenge to keep them all organized in my mind.  Nonetheless, I did enjoy it even if it had me running for my bible in order to figure out whom all the saints were.

  

.: Blog
.: Author's website