Saturday, February 4, 2012

Beyond Molasses Creek by Nicole Seitz - Reviewed

About the Book: (from the publisher)



Three lives are bound by a single book . . . and the cleansing waters of Molasses Creek.




Having traveled to the ends of the earth as a flight attendant, Ally Green has finally returned to the Lowcountry to bury her father as well as the past. But Vesey Washington is still living across the creek, and theirs is a complicated relationship—he was once her best friend . . . and also part of the reason she’s stayed away so long. When Ally discovers a message her father left behind asking her to quit running, it seems her past isn’t through with her yet.




As Ally’s wandering spirit wrestles with a deep longing to flee again, a young woman on the other side of the world escapes her life of slavery in the rock quarries of Nepal. A mysterious sketchbook leads Sunila Kunari to believe there’s more to her story than she’s ever been told, and she’s determined to follow the truth wherever it leads her.

A deep current intertwines the lives of these three souls, and a destiny of freedom, faith, and friendship awaits them all on the banks of Molasses Creek.

About the Author:



Nicole Seitz is the author of several critically acclaimed novels - The Inheritance of Beauty, Saving Cicadas, A Hundred Years of Happiness, Trouble the Water, and The Spirit of Sweetgrass. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Journalism, and also has a degree in Illustration from Savannah College of Art & Design. Her paintings are featured on the covers of her books. Visit her at @NicoleSeitz, Facebook and http://www.nicoleseitz.com/ for more information.



Find out what others think of Molasses Creek HERE!




You can purchase a copy of Beyond Molasses Creek HERE!



My Thoughts:



“Always running, always searching and finding nothing.” (p. 24)
This is Ally Green’s story. She has spent a lifetime running, searching and waiting for everything to make sense. It isn’t until her father dies and she returns to her home on Molasses Creek that she begins her journey to wholeness and understanding.




This story doesn’t have an overtly strong spiritual message. However, if you come to the story with the understanding that no event in our lives takes God by surprise, and that He uses all things for our good and His glory, then you will appreciate the wholeness of this story. Seitz alternates between two story lines that seem very unrelated at first. Both stories are intriguing, and the alternating story line draws the reader quickly through the novel.




As the story unfolds, the reader is given powerful insight into the relationship between Ally, Vesey and Sunila. By the time the reader reaches the last third of the book, it’s hard to read fast enough in the eagerness to uncover the destiny of the three main characters. The ending is very satisfying, realistic and heartwarming.



I came to this story while in midst of my own search to make sense of the shattered pieces of my own life story. I finished this novel with a thankful heart that God already knows how my story will end, and He is orchestrating everything for my good and His glory. I don’t know about you, but that is encouraging. God is not bound by time, and even though I get impatient to make sense of things right now, I know beyond any doubt that my Savior is with me and He is walking beside me. Perhaps it’s not the meaning the author intended for me to find, but find it I did, and I am happy to encourage others to enjoy Ally’s journey.

1 comment:

Nicole Seitz said...

I can't tell you how much I appreciate your comments. You get it! I have always been amazed in hindsight to see God at work in my own life...even when it was a jumbled mess. He was there, orchestrating it all for a greater good at some other blessed time, and this is what I show in this book. Ally, like many of us, has miles to go before she hands over all the reins of her life to God, but she is pointed in the right direction. And so are you. You are so right--nothing takes God by suprise. Rest in that and in knowing your story is still being told. I wish you all the best in life. Blessings and happy reading!