Book Review || Where Dandelions Grow

Author: Lydia Howe

Series: None

Genre: Fiction 

Published: 2017

Publisher: Lydia Howe Publishing 

Pages: 120

Age Group: YA 

Cousins are forever, or at least they’re supposed to be.
What happens when your world falls apart and your dreams are mocked by those closest to you?
Destiny’s idyllic childhood full of laughter and cousins abruptly ended when her mom uprooted the family to move them across the country with strict instructions to never talk about Swallow Ridge again. Eleven years later Destiny moves back to her hometown, determined to find her cousins… and answers.
Plagued by generations of bitterness and manipulation, Destiny hides her life-long goal - unwilling to let anyone else trample her fragile dreams. But life in the cozy town full of dandelions teaches Destiny there’s more to life than what she’s been taught.
Is it possible Swallow Ridge not only holds the answers Destiny so intensely searches for, but also the hope?


Where Dandelions Grow follows Destiny, a budding young writer who returns to her childhood hometown after eleven years to take a job at a local bookstore. While there, she undertakes the task of locating and reconnecting with her three cousins- her childhood best friends- and discovering why the family ties within her maternal family are stretched so thin. While on this journey, Destiny discovers more than she bargained for about the importance of reconciliation, dreams, and most of all, faith.
Where Dandelions Grow is a sweet story about hope and second chances. Telling the story in first person suited it well, and it was told in a casual style of writing. The story did jump around a bit, being very detailed and imaginable at times, other times moving pretty fast and a lot harder to connect with the characters and events.
The message of the story is great, especially for such a short work, and I loved the piece Loss and Restoration included in the book. The picture it paints is beautiful.
In all, Where Dandelions Grow is a nice quick read with a great message attached. My rating: 4/5 stars
**I received an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

+++++++++++++

As you may have noticed, there's a few changes going around on the blog recently, and I'm still in the process of getting everything in order. Some things are still a little out of place, so thanks for bearing with me! xx

Wednesday Words [2]- How Many Times

{image mine}

how many times

has He wiped our slate clean

how many times

 has He called us redeemed

even though we 

will not ever be worthy

to even be called His slave

how many times

has He forgiven our sin

how many times

again and again

even though we

will not ever be worthy

to even be called His slave

how many times 

has He called us His child

how many times

has He given that title

even though we

will not ever be worthy

to even be called His slave-

He calls us His child instead

~written 3.25.17

++++++++++

I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you. // Isaiah 44:22

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight... // Ephesians 1:7-8

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. // Galatians 4:4-5

[ just a reminder #1 ] His Deep Deep Love

{image via unsplash.com}

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, 

Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free! 

Rolling as a mighty ocean 

In its fullness over me! 

Underneath me, all around me, 

Is the current of Thy love 

Leading onward, leading homeward 

To Thy glorious rest above! 

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, 

Spread His praise from shore to shore! 

How He loveth, ever loveth, 

Changeth never, nevermore! 

How He watches o'er His loved ones, 

Died to call them all His own; 

How for them He intercedeth, 

Watcheth o'er them from the throne!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, 

Love of every love the best! 

Tis an ocean vast of blessing, 

Tis a haven sweet of rest! 

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, 

Tis a heaven of heavens to me; 

And it lifts me up to glory, 

For it lifts me up to Thee!

~lyrics by Samuel T. Francis 

//////////////

...so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,  may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. // Ephesians 3:17-19

Isolated Blog Tour

I'm so excited today to be able to participate in the blog tour for Isolated, Jordy Leigh's recently published debut novella! Jordy is a fantastic author with an amazing heart for God, and I was thrilled to be able to read and review Isolated recently in preparation for this blog tour, which will feature a selected portion of the novella in the spotlight as well as some of my reflections.

++++++++

About the book:

Fourteen-year-old Louise Stella flees into the forest to escape an intruder who would take her hostage. But by the time she returns to her house, her country has broken out in war and her home island has become a military base. Sharing the land with enemy soldiers, Louise’s only goal is to stay alive one day at a time. Having no food or water, and little knowledge of how to survive in the forests of Quebec, her biggest adversary is “the Unknown”. Her pride crumbles and she realizes that she can’t sustain herself. She must depend on someone else... but Whom?

Isolated is a Young Adult suspense novella with uncertainty lurking at every turn. It will have you asking the big questions about life and death. Will you come to the same conclusion as Louise?

+++++++

There are so many portions of Isolated that I could share, and I wish I could highlight all of them! Jordy has done a beautiful job of weaving Biblical, lifechanging truths with action-filled suspense that will keep you reading. {Warning: My thoughts and the excerpt below are slight spoilers}.
One of the main messages of the novella is that God will never give up on us- ever. Nothing that we can ever do, think, or say can change His plans, as Louise learns all too well!


....She knew everything there was to know about the Bible. But I don’t know God. And now she couldn’t help but feel that He was chasing her down; that He was after her soul. Will He ever give up? God, I don’t want to give you my life, so won’t You just stop… please? She threw her arms up in frustration.

Well, I’m not going to give up either. He can chase me down all He wants, but He won’t have me. Louise stuck out her bottom lip. She would show Him how fast she could run. Besides, He doesn’t know what I’m going through. Louise briefly considered the contradiction of her thoughts. How could a God Who didn’t know her situation chase her down so relentlessly. But in that moment of frustration, it was a detail she was willing to overlook. A few days ago, she didn’t even believe that God existed. It was much easier to resist Him then, but she could no longer deny Him.


This particular portion stuck out to me, as it reminded me of several Bible verses dealing with this very topic. Louise, although she is resistant to the things of God, feels like she is being "chased down" by Him- and she's right! God essentially"chases down" and brings to Himself everyone whom He has chosen. Romans 3:11 says "No one understands; no one seeks for God". It has nothing to do with us at all, as Ephesians 2:8-9 shows us. It has everything to do with God. John 6:65 explains: "....This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless it is granted to Him by the Father", and John 15:16 says "... You did not choose Me but I chose you...". 

It's pretty useless to argue with God, and I'm sure we're all quite glad that we don't always get what we think is best- becuase we usually have no idea what that is. As Louise is gradually learning throughout the novella, we can resist all we want but that changes nothing. God is always in control.
I think these paragraphs illustrate what a lot of people think about God -whether all the time or just occasionally. Also, knowing what the Bible says is not the same as knowing God, as Louise figures out at the beginning of the paragraph. Unfortunately, I think that's a common mistake that many make today. Knowing God is vital to knowing everything else we need to know!

Again, this is just one of many amazing parts of Isolated that encouraged, inspired, or really got me thinking. We need more books that do just that!

+++++++

Isolated will be officially published on September 11, but there is plenty you can do in the meantime!

Pre-order Isolated on Amazon 

Add Isolated on Goodreads

Visit Isolated's landing page

Visit Jordy Leigh's blog

About the author:

From as young as seven years old, Jordy Leigh filled exercise booklets with stories until her hand hurt. She loves a good book, but ultimately she hopes that hers will offer something of greater value than short-lived entertainment. In reading them, may you learn more about the God of the Bible.

Jordy Leigh hopes that Isolated will at once quench your desire for compelling fiction and nourish your soul with wholesome truth.

+++++++

I hope you enjoyed learning more about Jordy's new novella and that you'll take the time visit and follow her blog, read Isolated for yourself, or support this wonderful author and her commitment to writing God-honoring fiction in some other way.
Have you read Isolated? If so, what did you think about it? If not, does it sound like something you'd like to read?