Book Review: Waiting for Morning

Whenever I take trips, I try to bring along a book that belongs to me, just in case it gets lost or damaged in some way. Thus, after asking for this book for Christmas (if I'm going to gamble on Christian fiction, I tend to lean toward the writing of Karen Kingsbury), it finally made its way to my reading stack when I left for the women's retreat and then again for our family trip to Cedar Point. Still, my reading of the book was somewhat distracted by all the things going on.

In Waiting for Morning, we meet Hannah Ryan, a woman who has it all. Her loving husband and delightful daughters are returning home from a camping trip when a drunk driver slams into their vehicle and the Ryan family is torn asunder. Hannah finds it very difficult to cling to any semblance of her previous faith in God. Despite the influence of a Christian lawyer and a Christian friend at the head of the M.A.D.D. organization, Hannah wants nothing more to do with God. Instead, she is hell-bent on seeking revenge through a first-degree murder case against the man responsible for the accident, so much so that she ignores her surviving daughter, Jenny. All Jenny wants is to be with her dad and sister again.

While the story followed a predictable story arc and I figured out the ending well in advance, it was still a heart-rending story with believable characters in a realistic dilemma. Sadly, I felt a bit distressed over the portrayal of the mother in the story. It was hard to like her or her treatment and lack of intervention for her daughter. Still, the loss of faith was understandable and portrayed in a sympathetic light. The story clearly displayed the bondage a lack of forgiveness brings. Christians are not immune from the tragedies of life and Karen Kingsbury makes it her goal to address the issues in a way that strengthens a reader's faith.