Book Review: Covenant Child

Covenant Child by Terri Blackstock gripped me instantly and kept my attention from the first page to the book's final chapter.  Provided to me as a complimentary ebook copy from BookSneeze, Covenant Child describes the path of twin heirs savagely ripped from the arms of the only mother they'd known and given to relatives who only cared about the fortune the twins represented.  The little girls grew up in abject poverty and, left to their own devices while their grandparents squandered away their inheritance, developed survival skills including petty larceny and promiscuity.  Meanwhile, their loving stepmother watches from afar, anticipating the twins' eighteenth birthday when she can rejoin their lives and guide them to take over the greater inheritance that awaits them.

Blackstock's book is an eloquent modern-day parable of our destitute state before being made joint-heirs with Christ through salvation.  The latter half of the book also carries tones reminiscent of the Prodigal Son parable told by Jesus in the Gospels.  A quick and riveting read, Covenant Child will encourage the believing reader to revel in the mercies of our Great Father God, inspiring a fresh sense of thankfulness and insight into all that we have in Christ.

Book Review: A Jamaican's Journey to Time and Patience

Provided as a complimentary copy to me by Booksneeze,  A Jamaican's Journey is one man's recounting of his multi-cultural roots and upbringing.  Derrick shares his struggles to belong, to feel accepted and loved, and to make something of his life.  Derrick describes his conversion to Christ in high school as being the turning point of his life.  However, this pivotal decision does not prevent him from experiencing further heartache and floundering throughout his adult life.

Derrick writes with raw, unvarnished honesty in an almost confessional manner.  He relates incidents including the minutest detail, perhaps as a testament to his memory.  The agonies of his family history cause the reader to sympathize with Derrick, but those sympathies begin to turn to frustration as Derrick seems to perpetuate the cycle of family dysfunction in his own families despite his conversion to Christ.  Forgiveness and reconciliation between Derrick, his parents, and his siblings is described, but real life change seems to be missing from Derrick's own life.  Derrick himself proclaims the book to be more for his children, and I truly hope they will be able to learn from their family history and mistakes that were made.  On a more applicable note for the general audience, the history of Jamaica interwoven with the history of Derrick's ancestors makes for a colorful and informative educational experience for anyone interested in Jamaican culture.