Book Review - The Second Half

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Mona and Ken Sorenson are approaching the best years of their lives. Mona's greatest concern is that Ken will learn of the surprise party she's planning for his retirement from his job as Dean of Students at Stone University. They've already been making plans to travel, spend limitless hours in the garden, and Ken is looking forward to working on his woodworking and fishing with his grandchildren. It's what they deserve after years of careful planning.

But things begin to unravel when Ken learns that office politics are about to destroy his department. Can he really just leave, abandoning the work he spent a lifetime achieving? Mona is eager to build her event planning business with Ken's help, but rather than supporting her, he expresses concern that the stress of the work will send her back into the depression she struggles with.
Then, just days before Ken's last official day of work, their son, a Special Forces officer in the Army, learns he's being immediately deployed on a six-month mission in Pakistan. Since his wife left him, the only people he trusts to care for his two young children are his parents. In an instant, everything Ken and Mona spent their lives planning changes, and they will need to find strength, both physical and mental, to become parents once more. This is not the second half they wanted, and when their son fails to contact them as planned, they struggle to trust that it is God's plan, not theirs, that matters most.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

LAURAINE SNELLING has been writing since 1980, with over 65 books published, both fiction and non-fiction, historical and contemporary, for adults and young readers. She received a Career Achievement Award for inspirational fiction from RT Book Reviews and her books consistently appear on CBA bestseller lists. A hallmark of her style is writing about real issues within a compelling story. Lauraine and her husband, Wayne, have two grown sons and live in the Tehachapi Mountains with a Bassett named Sir Winston.

MY REVIEW:

I really enjoyed this book as I could relate to the main character of Mona. Not because I'm responsible for taking care of grandchildren or other small children in my older age, but because of the roller coaster feelings that she has and the fighting of depression as she finds her life turned upside down and dealing with a new normal.

The couple of Mona and Kenneth are so likeable and I loved how the author really showed how it feels to have your life planned out with your spouse only to have a situation arise that you feel responsible to deal with yet you don't really want to turn your life upside down. I liked the reality of them sharing their real feelings despite loving their son and grandchildren very much.

There are a lot of twists and turns to this plot so it definitely kept me interested and enjoying the story right to the end. I also loved that the main characters were older folks (like my hubby and I) as I could relate to a lot of the feelings that they had. The added addition of the children brought a younger element to everything so it's a story anyone would enjoy.

I loved the reality of this story. So many grandparents are facing this exact situation and I think it's important to understand how rewarding yet difficult this can be on older people. I loved the faith brought into this story and it was just an all around great book that I give 5 out of 5 stars.

*This book was provided to me for my honest review by FaithWords Group


Blessings - Julie