Straight Up by Lisa Samson

Straight Up is the story of Georgia Bishop, a musician who is wasting her life and talent by drowning herself in alcohol. Both of her parents are dead, and she is separated from her husband. In an attempt to help Georgia reclaim her life, Georgia’s uncle Geoffrey convinces her to move to Lexington, Kentucky, where she can be closer to him and have a fresh start.

Fairly, Georgia’s cousin, is simultaneously living an empty life. Although she is not a drunk, she spends all her time working, and she is involved in a meaningless relationship. Like her cousin, Fairly is bitter because those she loved the most are dead, and she no longer believes that God cares about what happens in her life.

Geoffrey convinces Fairly to visit Lexington as well, and emotions run high. When a life-altering event occurs, Fairly and Georgia are forced to recognize how empty their lives have become. Will it be too late to change?

If you enjoy contemporary Christian fiction, I believe you will enjoy this book. Lisa Samson does an excellent job developing real characters who struggle with the difficult circumstances in their lives. Mrs. Samson forces the characters to deal with the consequences of their actions; not everything is smooth and rosy. I especially appreciated the way Mrs. Samson highlighted the impact that we all have on the lives of others. We are not isolated. When we do not use our talents, and when we refuse to live as God desires us to live, we damage ourselves, and we alter the lives of others. Unfortunately, the people we hurt the most are the ones we love.

This book is for adults.

Review by Lauren

Baseballs and Bows

Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson

Heather "Hezzy" Curridge is like so many women today. She has it all and yet still feels unfulfilled and wants to have and do more. She and her husband are raising a teenaged son who is sometimes a target for the bullies, which reminds her of her own mistakes in this arena from her school years. In this novel by Lisa Samson, we follow her journey as a church dropout to try to find a way to better know and serve God and God's people. We also follow the journey of a married couple who might be drifting apart. We follow the journey into Heather's past, and her bold steps towards helping to create a new future for her and her family.

Lisa Samson has a wonderful insight into people. Through Heather, she analyzes a woman's guilt at overeating, overachieving, and overspending. She examines women's friendships--some genuine and some superficial, as well as the obstacles that we create that hinder finding new friends or going deeper with the ones that we have. Characters are described, but then as they act, they leap off the page at you.

One thing that I love about her novels are that they are so diverse. Each novel features a rainbow of characters who have different skin colors, different ages, different ways of worshiping God, different gifts and different personalities, indirectly challenging us to look at the people in our lives, or the people who aren't in our lives.

Quaker Summer is a novel that you will enjoy as each chapter introduces a new character, a new story, or a new issue that Heather is wrestling. The book also contains a reader's guide, so the topic, along with the provided questions would make it an excellent book club choice.

Reviewed by regular contributor Jennifer.

Snapshot