Nicole Baart Reviews

Added June 6, 2008

Summer Snow

The Sequel to After the Leaves Fall

Author: Nicole Baart
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Available At: Bookstores everywhere
Publishing Date: May 2008
Genre: Fiction: Christian/Contemporary
Format: Trade paper
Price: $12.99
ISBN-13: 978-1-4143-1623-9
Author Email/Website: http://www.nicolebaart.com/
Reviewer: Joyce Handzo
Rating: 9 Gargoyles

Summer Snow is a gentle whisper to the heart. Each word in this novel trembles with sensitivity and realism as they join together in a language landscape that stretches the reader's mind with infinite and glorious possibilities.

Julia DeSmit returns in this sequel to After the Leaves Fall. Although her pregnancy detoured her college plans, Julia's return to her Grandma's house set her on course again. She found a job at the local Value Foods and began to believe that life would get better. But her hope was challenged when her estranged mother and half brother showed up on their doorstep. Will this be the end of Julia's happiness or the beginning of God's grace?

It's impossible to merely read this book; every page is to be embraced and experienced through the author's prose and the characters' perspectives. Nicole Baart is able to take the characters' gestures, smiles and tears and breathe life into them through her words. The family dynamics of Julia's family was portrayed with an eye for mercy and a heart filled with both hope and heartache. There is an aching sense of longing in these pages, as Julia reaches out of her situation to grasp at something higher. She is a heroine of the highest level, battling against the daily demons of despair and doubt.

Nicole Baart has crafted characters that readers will care about, almost to the point of praying for them. Her exceptional writing allows us to practically touch them and tell them we understand. I would say this is Nicole Baart at her best, but with this author, her books keep getting better!

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Added August 7, 2007

After the Leaves Fall

Author: Nicole Baart
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Available At: Bookstores everywhere
Publishing Date: October 2007
Genre: Fiction: Christian/Contemporary/Mainstream
Format: Trade paper
Price: $12.99
ISBN-10: 1414316224
ISBN-13: 978-1-4143-1622-2
Author Email/Website: www.nicolebaart.com
Reviewer: Joyce Handzo
Rating: 9 Gargoyles

After the Leaves Fall gathers an array of powerful emotions and gently arranges them in all their vibrancy. Each page throbs with realism, as the main character walks tentatively through a life filled with a remarkable blend of heartache and hope.

Julia Bakker's mother deserted her when she was nine, and her dad died when she was sixteen. As Julia enters adulthood, she's determined to fill her future with stability and success. Unfortunately, a bad decision at college shatters her dreams, leaving her with a destiny more uncertain than ever.

The first-person perspective immediately pulls the reader in, issuing an invitation to sit beside this extraordinary young woman to learn of her trials and to understand her tears. Honest and candid writing lends a conversational tone to this story, creating an intimacy that remains throughout the novel. Julia Bakker could be the girl next door, as her thoughts meander with a delightful familiarity.

These pages are rich with emotional appeal, as Julia's life sways with times of joy and moments of sorrow. This gentle rocking of highs and lows presents a clearer picture of this young woman and her impassioned search for love and security. The author's vivid descriptions of Julia's home, her childhood, and her life in a college dorm compassionately sketch her intense yearning for happiness.

As part of a two-book series, readers will want to reconnect with Julia in the sequel to see how she fares with this new failure in her life. A sensitive and relevant thread of Christianity is present in these pages, as it quietly upholds the story with faith and mercy.

After the Leaves Fall is a novel that soars with significance.

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This page was last updated on June 6, 2008

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