Five Days In May

I don't think I've ever had such a profound feeling after reading a novel like I have after finishing Five Days in May by Ninie Hammon. You want to remember that name because her books will have you remembering them long after you have finished and to me, that is a sign of a talented and memorable author. WOW! Was my initial thought after reading this novel. How can I possibly sum this up in a review without giving away too much but convey to people looking for an exceptional book to please pick this one up.

The only way to partially describe this book is among notable movies like The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption. If you've watched either of them, it's not that the actors themselves are what makes the movie but the story being illustrated on the big screen. Five Days in May is precisely that while it remains in book format and I truly hope and pray that some worthwhile production company picks this up and really sees something it in and breathes life into it on the big screen. It's message is too small for television.

It's a story about sacrifice and how far you're willing to go to see that sacrifice through. It's a story about how the lives of Emily Prentiss, Reverend David "Mac" McIntosh, Jonas his father, and Joy his daughter would intersect in a way that would leave them all changed forever by their circumstances and what drew them together.

All four people have a date with destiny and what occurs on that warm Friday in May in 1963 can only be described as miraculous. Mac has been struggling as the town of Graham's pastor since the loss of his wife Melanie. While he watched cancer strip away the very life of the woman he loved, all his prayer to God seemed to go unanswered and he can no longer stand in front of a body of believers and talk to them about a God he no longer believes in. His 16-year-old daughter Joy is struggling to come to terms with no only her mother's death but has now discovered she is pregnant. Not something a preacher's kid ever wants to deal with in highschool and believes the only answer to her problem is to find a way to get rid of the baby growing inside her. But her father is certainly the last person she wants to talk to.

Jonas has watched Alzheimer's take away Maggie, the woman he agree to love and care for until death parted them. Most days she isn't the same woman he married and she doesn't even know who he is. She rambles on about events that aren't even a part of their life, and worse, she screams bitter profanities at him, while she struggles with a disease that has claimed her mind. Jonas knows there is only one way to fulfill his marriage vow and he will do what it takes so she doesn't have to suffer in her private nightmares any longer. Emily Prentiss or Princess awaits her coming execution in just 5 short days and all she knows is she must convince the pastor who is coming to meet with her, that she isn't crazy and she knows more than most people do about others through her visions. Will she be able to convince him that something wicked is coming to the town of Graham before it's too late for them all?

I received Five Days in May by Ninie Hammon compliments of the author herself. I actually came across her through Facebook posts about her incredible books. I knew that based on people comparing her with Frank Peretti, Ted Dekker, Tosca Lee and in my opinion Stephen King, I knew I had to read her novel. You always want to believe that the book will hold up to all the compliments but this one does that and so much more, I simply can't articulate it well enough. To say that it's well-written seems so shallow, because it takes you by the hand and never lets go until the end. You don't just read this novel, you become part of it. There is no religious elements in this story but to convey that there is an underlying theme of what it means to lay down one's life for another, the very same belief Christian share about the sacrifice of Jesus. That is what you will find in your own way in this novel I hope. For me, a home run with 5 out of 5 stars and I will be adding this author to my "MUST HAVE" list, because if this is a taste of what she brings to her books, I want them all!

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Five Days in May by Ninie Hammon

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