Hoping For More: May 2013

Title: A Girl Named Grace

Author: Janna Lafrance
Genre: Fiction, Inspirational
Page Count: 317 Pages
Published: October 2012 by Safehouse Media
Rating: 5/5

When Grace’s perfectly constructed life is shattered by unthinkable tragedy, she is forced to revisit her past and the secret world she had convinced herself was a fairy tale—a world where angels appear on rooftops and the Jewish man named Jesus meets with her and leads her on a path to healing and intimacy with her Creator.

At first, Grace thinks she is experiencing hallucinations or possible episodes of psychosis brought on my the trauma of recent events, however as time progresses, she starts to realize that these beings she is encountering are more real than she could possibly imagine. As the mysteries of the supernatural realm begin to unfold around her, she gains the courage to journey into dark memories that she had spent nearly a lifetime trying to forget, and is finally able to embrace hope for a future she had never thought possible.

My Review:

Grace reached the lowest of lows. She was kicked while she was down and found herself utterly hopeless--but it was in that place that she found Him.

A Girl Named Grace is a beautiful love story, but not in the conventional sense. It's about a broken girl coming to life again as she comes to know the uncompromising and unsurpassing love of the One who saved her.

Grace is a real and relatable character that comes to life on the page. When the "God-man" comes into her life he is portrayed in such a real and true way that I could feel His words as I read them.

I loved the style and voice of Janna's writing. I was drawn into Grace's story from the very beginning, and felt her pain and triumphs right along with her. There were moments that my heart squeezed in my chest, and moments when tears fell of their own accord, but I was left with a happy heart and a greater understanding of God's love.

Favourite Quotes:

"..the puzzle of her carefully pieced together life was growing weary of holding itself together..." Pg 1

"She found it difficult to tear her eyes away, even though her insides drew back like fingers from a flame." Pg 3

"Her entire life had been built over a fault line , and today, as the past and future collided with catastrophic force, the earth opened up and Grace began to fall." Pg 30

"The raw emotion that came from somewhere in the deep, dark cavern of her soul rose like lava, burning its way through her chest and throat. She couldn't contain it and didn't want to. Not here. Not when stifling it meant its fire would only continue to scorch her heart and any ability she had left to love and be loved." Pg 87

"In spite of and in defiance to the natural inclination to survive and protect oneself, love is a force that is released the moment an individual chooses the well-being of another before himself." Pg 117

My Rating: 5/5

Author Chat!

Janna Lafrance will be doing a live chat on Thursday, June 13th at 8pm EST via Facebook here.

You'll like this book if you liked

The Shack by William P. Young; He Loves Me by Wayne Jacobsen; Bo's Café by by John Lynch, Bill Thrall, and Bruce McNicol; So You Don't Want To Go To Church Anymore by Wayne Jacobsen.