Review: Interrupted by Rachel Coker

Interrupted: A Life Beyond Words

Author: Rachel Coker

Publication Date: February 14th, 2012

Publisher: Zondervan

Genre: Historical Fiction / Christian Fiction

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Synopsis:

Can love really heal all things? If Sam Carroll hadn't shown up, she might have been able to get to her mother in time. Instead, Allie Everly finds herself at a funeral, mourning the loss of her beloved mother. She is dealt another blow when, a few hours later, she is sent from Tennessee to Maine to become the daughter of Miss Beatrice Lovell, a prim woman with a faith Allie cannot accept. Poetry and letters written to her mother become the only things keeping Allie's heart from hardening completely. But then Sam arrives for the summer, and with him comes many confusing emotions, both toward him and the people around her. As World War II looms, Allie will be forced to decide whether hanging on to the past is worth losing her chance to be loved.

My Thoughts: I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this book. It was a quick read, I felt like I was breezing my way through it. I enjoyed that it was historical fiction and it is well written, but maybe I somehow missed the hint that it was a religious book? It actually didn't seem very religious until the end, so that was ok. But it made it seem like you can't be happy without being religious. Well, I'm happy enough in my life I think, but I'm not a Christian, I'm not an Atheist either though. So I just read it and didn't put much thought into the religion.

I guess what I disliked the most about the story was Alcyone (Allie). I just didn't like her character. I realize now that it was purposely written that way so that she could find God, but she just really made me mad sometimes. Yes, her mother died. That's sad, she had no one else but was lucky enough to get adopted. I'm not sure if there were orphanages in the 40s, but good luck finding someone who will adopt a teenage daughter in this day and age. And yet she was completely ungrateful and spiteful toward everyone who wanted to give her love. So she brought all her misery on herself because she didn't want another mother, or any one to love her. She was this way until 75% into the book, then you see some emotion, only for her to clam up for another 10-15%. So even when she opened up, I still didn't really like her because of how she hurt everyone throughout the book.

Then there was Sam. Sam, who I honestly thought was too good for Allie, but you can't choose who you fall in love with. Sam was my favorite character because he was so nice and did his best not to let others get him down. I was sad for him, and then happy for him in the end.

Overall it was an ok read. I enjoyed the storyline, if not Allie. Would I recommend it? Probably not, unless you are someone who really enjoys coming to age stories with a religious tone. The writing style is great, but I just couldn't like Allie, and since the story revolved around her.. But still, I didn't hate it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Zondervan for the review copy