MY REVIEW:
I first ran across Lisa Wingate’s books quite by accident while browsing eBay trying to find something to fill my insatiable appetite for books. There is no way I can afford to purchase all the books I want to read new. I was intrigued by Lisa’s Texas Hill Country series and sure enough, after reading them I was hooked. Since that time I have either bought or had the privilege of reviewing her entire library. I am thrilled to be able to review her latest novel “The Prayer Box”. I wish I could just tell you to run right out and pick up your very own copy because I’d like you to discover the wonder of Lisa’s talent for yourself. But then that wouldn’t quite be a review would it?
I will admit that I did not care very much for the primary character Tandi Jo Reese. I thought she was self-centered and a poor excuse of a mother. But Lisa has a way of making her readers care about the characters so that they want to stick around long enough to see if things will get any better. It didn’t take me very long to realize that Tandi Jo was a wounded soul and had been since childhood. Her lifelong search for affirmation had led her to make poor choices, some of which had quite negative effects on her relationship with her children. It was encouraging to watch how Tandi Jo’s viewpoint changed as she read the letters she discovered in deceased Iola Anne Poole’s prayer boxes and the effect it had on her relationship with her children. Other living characters positively impacted the lives of Tandi and her children who in turn played a huge role in the future of their new town.
“The Prayer Box” is a special story that made a big impression on me. I loved reading Iola’s letters and her almost poetic voice as she shared her life with her Lord. I am certain that many readers will be prompted to create their own prayer boxes after reading this beautiful book.
This book was provided for review by The Tyndale Blog Network.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
When Iola Anne Poole, an old-timer on Hatteras Island, passes away in her bed at ninety-one, the struggling young mother in her rental cottage, Tandi Jo Reese, finds herself charged with the task of cleaning out Iola’s rambling Victorian house.
Running from a messy, dangerous past, Tandi never expects to find more than a temporary hiding place within Iola’s walls, but everything changes with the discovery of eighty-one carefully decorated prayer boxes, one for each year, spanning from Iola’s youth to her last days. Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paper–the hopes and wishes, fears and thoughts of an unassuming but complex woman passing through the seasons of an extraordinary, unsung life filled with journeys of faith, observations on love, and one final lesson that could change everything for Tandi. – See more HERE.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Lisa Wingate is a magazine columnist, speaker, and the author of nineteen mainstream novels, including the national bestseller, Tending Roses, now in its eighteenth printing. She is a seven-time ACFW Carol award nominee, a Christy Award nominee, and a two-time Carol Award winner. Her novel, Blue Moon Bay, was a Booklist Top Ten of 2012 pick. Recently, the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa along with Bill Ford, Camille Cosby, and six others, as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life. When not dreaming up stories, Lisa spends time on the road as a motivational speaker. Via internet, she shares with readers as far away as India, where her book, Tending Roses, has been used to promote women’s literacy, and as close to home as Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the county library system has used Tending Roses to help volunteers teach adults to read. – See more HERE.
