From master storyteller Angela Hunt, a powerful story of a family’s journey toward healing and hope after an unimaginable loss. Seventeen-year-old Maddie is left reeling after the unexpected passing of her beloved father. No one has any idea why he betrayed them all so spectacularly, but that’s exactly what his death feels a betrayal. With their world shattered, Maddie’s grieving mother sends her to spend a few months with her grandparents, thinking a change of scenery will do her good. Susan and Frank, Maddie’s grandparents, are heartbroken over the loss of their son, but they welcome Maddie as an addition to their long-empty nest. Maddie settles in and makes friends at her new school, but she still wrestles with why her father took his own life. Then an unexpected twist throws all their lives into fresh turmoil, testing the very fabric of their faith. How Susan helps her granddaughter find hope, even as they both struggle with grief, makes this touching tale of love and recovery a must-read. Contains discussion questions, making it ideal for book groups.
This is a hard book to read but so good! I felt like I was learning a lot of good ways to deal with situations teens find themselves in without having to attend a lecture or read a textbook. The characters seem so real that sometimes I just wanted to shout at them! But I will caution, it is an emotionally hard read which I highly recommend for adults, especially those working with teens, but I do not know that I would let a younger teen read this novel.
This novel is part of a new fiction line put out by Focus on the Family and spearheaded by Jerry Jenkins dealing with socially hard topics for a Christian. The faith element is strong and woven throughout the novel. It is 305 pages. It is written with several different point of views, but I loved how the author ended the story with Susan, the middle-aged grandmother thinking, “Frank and I had lived a charmed life, filled with undeserved blessings, until God planted a lesson in the soil of a difficult season and allowed us to water it with our grief.” I received a copy of this book from the author. I am freely writing a review – all thoughts and opinions are my own.
The Author: Christy-Award winner Angela Hunt writes for readers who have learned to expect the unexpected in novels from this versatile author. With over five million copies of her books sold worldwide, she is the best-selling author of more than 150 works ranging from picture books (The Tale of Three Trees) to novels.
Now that her two children have reached their thirties, Angie and her husband live in Florida with Very Big Dogs (a direct result of watching Turner and Hooch and Sandlot too many times). This affinity for mastiffs has not been without its rewards–one of their dogs was featured on Live with Regis and Kelly as the second-largest canine in America. Their dog received this dubious honor after an all-expenses-paid trip to Manhattan for the dog and the Hunts, complete with VIP air travel and a stretch limo in which they toured New York City. Afterward, the dog gave out pawtographs at the airport.
Angela admits to being fascinated by animals, medicine, psychology, unexplained phenomena, and “just about everything” except sports. Books, she says, have always shaped her life— in the fifth grade she learned how to flirt from reading Gone with the Wind. Her books have won the coveted Christy Award, several Angel Awards from Excellence in Media, and the Gold and Silver Medallions from Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year Award. In 2007, her novel The Note was featured as a Christmas movie on the Hallmark channel. Romantic Times Book Club presented her with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.
In 2006, Angela completed her Master of Biblical Studies in Theology degree and completed her second doctorate in 2015. When she’s not home reading or writing, Angie often travels to teach writing workshops at schools and writers’ conferences. And to talk about her dogs, of course.
What a Wave Must Be was published on November 7, 2023 by Focus on the Family.
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