the redemption collection redemption remember return rejoice reunion karen kingsbury

In this final book, the matriarch of the family is tragically ill, and how she and the family cope with her sickness is the crux of the novel. The story threads seem to continue into the following books. Each book in the series focuses on a different sibling and their problems, but none of the books is really a stand-alone tale. This is the fifth book in the series, but I have a feeling that it is not the end of Baxter family saga. If I ever read any other Kingsbury books I will have learned the necessity of skimming over the juvenile hysterical junk and seek out the meat of the scriptural life lesson. Personally, I haven't noticed that the Christians in real life respond more histrionically to problems actually quite the opposite, but Kingsbury characters do way too much emotional over-reacting and not nearly enough pro-active thinking and doing-just deal with it like other adult humans do! However, when the characters finally do get around to seeking answers in prayer, Scripture, and counseling and start to think and communicate, some actual maturity and biblical insights emerge-they just take so long to get there! On the plus side the Bible lessons she works into the solutions to her problems are right-on once she finally gets around to them. Her adult characters are ridiculously immature, and I was repelled by adult Christians responding hysterically and rather meanly to some difficulty, with the maturity of a 13-year old. Much in the story felt soapish, juvenile, and often contrived and unrealistic. This series seriously overemphasizes the importance of physical beauty, which struck me as sadly superficial to be so hung up on surface values. Remember wasn't so hot, but Reunion was better.

My library had only two of the five books of this series-Remember and Reunion.

The redemption collection redemption remember return rejoice reunion karen kingsbury