EBN A Book You've Been Meaning to Read: Christy by Catherine Marshall

A book you've been meaning to read. This was a hard selection. Not because I couldn't think of any books I wanted to read, rather I had too many. I am one of those people that never seems to make a dent in my "to read" pile no matter how much I actually read. There just always seems to be a ton of books I think I might like. There also seems to be a ton of books that other people seem to think I might like. So the pile will only continue to grow until the visual image of my "have read" list will look something like that library in Disney's The Beauty and the Beast; or at least that's the goal. Don't shame me for not getting there yet. I'm only thirty and I have 4 small kids.

This week's book has been on my "to read" list for a very long time. It is one of my mother's all time favorite books, and she has been telling me I would love it since I was in high school. She's usually right. I found this book at a thrift store for .75 cents while attending my one of my first semesters at college. I started reading it but then became a little overwhelmed by all the required reading I had to do that semester and just didn't have time. Fast forward a decade or so and here I am; digging through my boxes of books (my husband seems to think finishing basement bedrooms and bathrooms take priority over built in shelving for all my books) looking for something I haven't read but want to. Let me say, my mother was right...again.

I absolutely loved this book. The characters were approachable and very relate-able. The steady and beautiful change that comes over the main character was powerful but slow and oh so realistic. In the words of Anne of Green Gables, she and I were "kindred spirits".

Every now and then I come across one of these books where the main theme or message is so in line with my own personal philosophy that I wonder if the author happens to be Mormon too. It almost never is the case and this was no exception. But just because I'm a Mormon and the author comes from a more traditional Christian background doesn't mean that we don't share a faith. The message she shared in this book about God's love for his children and the absolute necessity for all of us to embody and share that love is what I would classify as a true and everlasting principle. Regardless of which dogma you adhere to, unconditional, unfailing love can be the most powerful and unifying force in this world if we will just let it guide our view of those around us. Our feelings for others change, and often they change too as we interact with them. The shift in the character of Bird's-Eye is not just the crazy fantasy of a fictitious book; it can be real. Our love affects others far more than we recognize.

I genuinely loved this book. If I were rating it I would give it a 9 out of 10 (very high praise for me).