Meet Gabrielle Larson who was like every other 15-year-girl you could meet. She lived a rich life with her best friend Carmen and her parents who exemplified what being in love after many years of marriage looked like to anyone they ever met. For Gabrielle it would be the one thing she would use as a measurement of what she hoped for when she met the person she hoped she would one day marry as well. For now, the thing that united Gabrielle and her family was music. Both of her parents were people who loved to share their faith through music ministry and it wasn't long before they involved Gabrielle in it as well. Soon the entire family found joy and love through sharing it with others in churches and others venues. But soon Gabrielle overheard a conversation with her parents that they seemed to keep hidden well. That unless more opportunities became available their financial problems would become overwhelming. Still they had faith that God would provide. And He did.
At a last minute request, they were invited to sing at a local church, but Gabrielle and her friend Carmen had other plans to head to the mall. Unfortunately for Gabrielle, it would be the last time she said goodbye to her parents. They both would die tragically in a car accident leaving her to the care of her Aunt Bea and Uncle Will and require her to move to North Dakota from Chicago. What transpires through the remainder of Past Darkness by Laurel Woiwode is the story of how Gabrielle deals with loss. The loss of her parents, her home, her school, her friends and her life. It's about finding ways to move forward when it feels like all you want to do is simply give up.
I received Past Darkness by Laurel Woiwode compliments of Crossway Publishing and Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and received no monetary compensation for a favorable one. This is such a poignant story that deals with a loss I can't even imagine. How right at the pivotable time in a teens life, her entire world is thrown upside down. How Gabrielle deals with moving to a very rural setting and living the life at a ranch instead of a big city is believable and shows us all that we all deal with loss in very different ways. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone you know who is experiencing coping with a loss of a loved one. It's short and to the point. The only thing I felt lacking was the abrupt ending. It seemed like to me, it simply needed a bit more. I felt like I was left hanging at the end of a incomplete sentence even though the story was complete. I'd rate this one a 4 out of 5 stars.
For more information about Past Darkness, Laurel Woiwode or where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:
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To read more reviews on Past Darkness on the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance Book Tour, please click here.
- Paperback: 176 pages
- Publisher: Crossway (April 2, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1433535181
- ISBN-13: 978-1433535185
- Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.4 x 8 inches
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