The Kindness of Strangers

I'm not really sure where to begin with this one. I liked the book and I recommend the book, but I have to be careful here. One of the themes involves coping with and recovering from tragedy. One family is in the process of recovering from a father's death, while another family is hiding a deep, dark secret that will forcefully impact the first family. The mothers of each family are best friends, except mother #1 doesn't have a clue about mother #2's secret.  So how well does mother #1 know mother #2? It turns out not well at all!

I don't want to spoil the book for anyone, but I do want to warn any potential readers to proceed with caution. The subject matter doesn't produce warm and fuzzies, and at times it can be pretty unbearable. However, the writer did an AMAZING job capturing the essence of this subject. She is a middle school English teacher from Ohio. Her words will put you right there in each scene with the characters. You will love some and detest others. If you're like me, you might even find yourself crying loud, heavy sobs on your sunny deck while tears and snot stream down your face. (Luckily no neighbors popped over!)You will want to put your arm around the little boy, Jordan, and tell him you will make everything okay again. You will be more attuned to the signs and symptoms. And you'll probably pray for the safety of all children, for always.

Good luck. Feel free to pop back and share your response/reaction if you decide to read it.