Francine Rivers
Women's Lives and Relationships (with Historical Fiction & Romantic Twist)
Sierra, a young mother is moved to California by her husband who landed his dream job. The move along with California's landscape, money, lack of morals and a time-consuming job tear this family apart. A miracle in the form of a diary is just what is needed ...
Characteristics:
- Pacing ... Leisurely, but compelling
- Characterization ... Sierra is developed along with her relative Mary Kathryn
- Tone/Mood touches the heart ... when all is lost ... there is hope!
- Setting - Women in same family but centuries apart weave an uplifting tale
Appeals:
- Layers of Meaning
- Emotional Element
- Protagonist finds Hope
- Setting - Sierra (Contemporary) Mary Kathryn (Oregon Trail)
- Authentic - Details of Oregon Trail, California scenery and bible versus all accurate
- Story line - Historical aspect was more enjoyable, contemporary fiction is all too real!
- Diary showed Sierra that Mary Kathryn's life was difficult but she still found HOPE
- Examples of how to implement change in own life through belief
Read Alikes
Hidden Places by Lynn Austin
A Heart Most Worthy by Siri Mitchell
Tessa Afshar, Lauraine Snelling, Tracie Peterson,
Janette Oke, Lori Wick and Karen Kingsbury
also pen romantic, "clean" unique stories.
I read and enjoyed Francine Rivers' Mark of the Lion trilogy many years ago.
ReplyDeleteLast week someone on our circulation staff was asked if we had any good Christian Fiction titles that weren't about the Amish. Can I pass along your read-alike list to the patron or are there any Amish books on it that she should avoid? I didn't speak directly to the patron so I have no idea what her issue is with Amish CF.
Francine Rivers makes me cry every time I read her --- I've liked each one I've read. I re-checked the authors I listed & none of them appear to be Amish. Lynn Austin has a nice range of "time periods." All Things New = Civil War = so fascinating to me! Until we reach home = Sweden & immigrate to Chicago. Wings of Refuge = present day & Ancient Israel. Yes, please feel free to share -- hope the patron is pleased! Some of these are stand-alones & some are series - tell her to keep that in mind.
DeleteThanks for the suggestions! I'll pass them on.
DeleteSusan
Suzie,
ReplyDeleteI love what you've done with your blog. Your title is awesome and way more creative than mine!
I enjoyed your practice annotation. I think you laid it out well so it was clear what characteristics and appeals the book had. I also like how you added some images--it was informative and visually-friendly! I'm not big into romance myself, but as someone who likes historical fiction, your annotation made Scarlet Thread tempting to read. So, I think your annotation was successful!
Amber Arnold
Amber - thanks! I don't really like STRAIGHT romance either - but, the historical twist & the mysterious twists usually make them more my speed. I loved romance until a friends said she couldn't read them because it made her husband seem not very nice - ha ha. That is when I started reading murder-mysteries -- kinda figured my husband had to be a complete "peach" compared to crazy killers!! :)
DeleteHey, Amber -- I think Amber's Amazing Anecdotes ;)
DeleteI am a real Alliteration freak - in case you didn't already notice :)
Haha, I almost spit out what I was drinking when I read why you started reading murder-mysteries! Very good annotation, I already looked up the read-a-likes to pick a book for one of my genre selections (if you don't mind). Many of these authors have been given quite a few awards for their writing - I just remember reading what was termed "Christian fiction" years ago and these do not sound like anything I had read!
DeleteYes, please enjoy the read-a-likes :) I have read lots of them - but, I'll never read all I would like. I had a HUGE goal to read all Newbery's once - didn't quite get there :) plus, I couldn't read some of them - I definitely wouldn't have chosen a few of them - but, that must be why I'm not on the committee :)
DeleteNice annotation! I especially liked the way you did title read-a-likes as well as author read-a-likes. (I'll probably have to use that in my next annotation!) I feel like a lot of times, patrons who come to my library don't necessarily want books "just like" the ones they already enjoy, but rather an author who writes in a similar style.
ReplyDeleteAnna, agreed ... & again, they often have NO CLUE what they want -- sometimes just the gentle suggestion sends them into a whole new world of enjoyment!
DeleteGreat job Suzie. You know it's good when an annotation makes people want to read and recommend the book!
ReplyDeleteHi Suzie, I prefer books with a female protagonist. From your annotation I could tell that readers could relate to this character and wanted her (Sierra) to succeed.
ReplyDeleteSuzie,
ReplyDeleteI really like your annotation! Reading your first paragraph sparked my curiosity, wanting me to learn more about the book. It sounds like a book I would enjoy reading. The historical aspect sounds interesting which makes me wonder how it is tied into the storyline. There.There are patrons at the library where I work that have asked for titles by Francine Rivers. I will need to check out the "FIC RIV" section next week and take a look at what Francine has to offer!
The genre description is intriguing-I'm not usually a fan of romance novels, but I do enjoy the historical fiction and women's lives and relationships genres. The characteristics you noted give a good general view of the story, but I would've like to see a little more about the book.
ReplyDeleteStephanie ... Thanks for letting me know your opinion, but I also didn't want to tell TOO much. Personally, I enjoyed the historical fiction side more than the modern - probably because I do local history research & it is so fun to find "old" clues - which is a lot of the historical side.
Delete