A Sneak Peek at the Latest Karen Kingsbury Novel

In many ways, This Side of Heaven reads like a typical Kingsbury drama exploring emotions on the journey of being human. Yet from the beginning the story felt different. At first I thought it was because there was too much backstory--telling what had already happened before the story opened--and not enough tension to drive the story forward. Until partway through, when the plot takes a very unexpected turn and the story becomes something else entirely.

At the end of the book I discovered why this story was different: it was very personal for Kingsbury. As is typical when an author takes a slightly different path than is expected, readers will probably love or hate the change. Ultimately, while the story lacks much of the emotional tension Kingsbury is known for, it still plumbs the depth of human emotions in a unique way that many readers will identify with.

Scroll down to read the first chapter.

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!



You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Karen Kingsbury

and the book:

This Side of Heaven

Center Street (January 6, 2009)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury is America's #1 inspirational novelist. She's written more than thirty novels, ten of which have hit #1 on bestseller lists, and her Center Street novel Just Beyond the Clouds hit #13 on the New York Times bestseller list. There are nearly seven million copies of her award-winning books in print, including more than two million copies sold last year alone. She lives in Washington state with her husband, Don, and their six children, three of whom are adopted from Haiti.



Visit the author's website.



Product Details:



List Price: $14.99

Paperback: 352 pages

Publisher: Center Street (January 6, 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1599956780

ISBN-13: 978-1599956787



AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER: