Book Review: Stand By Me

I just finished a great book by one of my favorite fiction authors, Neta Jackson. Called Stand By Me, the story centers around many of the characters that I grew to love in Jackson's popular Yada Yada Sisterhood series. I couldn't wait to dig in to this story since Jackson's stories are absorbing and this one was no different--not to mention that it was an easy read on my iPad while feeding a baby!

Stand by Me follows the overlapping stories of two women: Avis Douglass, a seasoned woman of God, and graduate student and new Christian Katherine ("Kat") Davies. As she and her husband contemplate a potential move overseas, Avis' life is complicated by estrangement from her daughter, a leadership shake-up at church, and new neighbors. Similar to Avis, Kat struggles with strained family relationships, but as a brand new Christian and new attendee at Souled Out Church, her unbridled enthusiasm for social issues makes a few waves and rubs Avis the wrong way.

I enjoyed the way Jackson intertwined the stories of these two characters. Since I was already familiar with Avis' character and her portrayal as a strong Christian leader, it was interesting to see her, in this story, portrayed as more falliable--as a woman of God who can also be selfish and stubborn at times, as we all can be. I found Kat's character a wee bit annoying since she was idealistic to a fault and oblivious to social cues, but her compassion made up for this somewhat.

I particularly enjoyed the last few chapters of Stand By Me, where is becomes clear why Avis and Kat's lives intersect. Although there are no real surprises here, a beautiful story of redemption and true friendship unfolds as both women allow God to work in their lives. My only complaint about the story is that is ends rather abruptly and leaves a few loose ends. But perhaps that's the sign of a good book--it left me wanting more.

Thomas Nelson Publishers provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my review.