September 7, 2012
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Stand By Me
A little while back I read a book called Stand by Me: A SouledOut Sisters novel by Neta Jackson. I really meant to write a review much sooner, but with our moving locations and being busy with visitors and summer, I am just now getting around to writing. This light-hearted read is essentially about two women whose paths intersect quite unexpectedly. One woman is a vibrant, white college student who is young in her Christian faith, and the other is a black elementary school principal who has a weathered and strong faith. I enjoyed seeing how these two women interacted because it was not always on the best of terms, but by the end of the book, both women benefit from their relationship to each other. Initially I was not sure if I would enjoy this book, as I do not normally opt on the sort of fiction that aims straight at women only (granted this is a very clean read). I am more a historical fiction kind of gal, but I liked how the author brought the line between real faith and daily life into the forefront of this book. In doing so, it made it feel more like real life. My only real complaint about the book was that the author was a bit redundant in explaining who the characters were a few too many times as though I would have trouble keeping the characters straight. Otherwise, by the book’s end I found myself wishing I could keep reading the rest of the story in answer to some of the questions I was left with concerning some of the characters in the book, or even how the two women would continue to grow in the relationship with each other and to God. In short, it is a nice feel good kind of read and I recommend it for what it is.
I received a copy of Stand By Me by Neta Jackson from Thomas Nelson Publishing in exchange for a fair review of this book.
