STARS IN THE GRASS
by
Ann Stewart
Nine year old Abby McAndrews has just experienced her greatest loss, and in its wake, her family is unraveling with guilt, grief, and anger. Her father, Reverend McAndrews, cannot return to the pulpit because he has more questions than answers. Her older brother Matt's actions speak louder than the words he needs to confess, as he acts out in dangerous ways. Her mothers tries to hold her grieving family together, but when Abby's dad refuses to move on, the family is at a crossroads.
ANN STEWART's background in music, theater, directing and twelve years of teaching provides a unique foundation for writing, performance, and public speaking. She lives with her family in Northern Virginia.
MY THOUGHTS
Setting: small Midwestern town in 1970.
Nine year old Abby's world is perfect until.... Tragedy strikes and rips the entire family apart. Her father who is a minister, always was the one to go to for answers but now, he has all the questions and no answers. On top of that, guilt is eating away at him. Most has to do with 15 year old Matt. He's going through a stage of acting out dangerously and is filled with anger. A terrible loss occurs. You have a mother who tries to hold the family together but without her husband's help, the family comes to a standstill.
The author puts you in the story as though you are Abby. The author vividly describes the things you can touch, feel, sense and see. The author takes you into a world of some very real subjects, grief and what a family experiences when the grieving process isn't gone through. This is seen through a nine year old's eyes. You get to see how Abby is struggling and her many questions. The book may bring memories back to you. Perhaps you went through something similar. It's a reality check that life can change in a New York heart beat. The writer also shows that even a minister, a father, finds difficulty coping with the guilt, looking for answers and not being able to find them.
The author gives the reader a sense of hope for this family after your sadness at what this family is going through. You follow the family from tragedy, the aftermath and a future. Often times, people and things are taken for granted. We don't stop and think about what if.... But when that what if....happens. It's a startling awakening.
This is truly a reality check and a journey into what happens when tragedy strikes at home. A journey of FAITH.
I received a copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to review this book. I voluntarily decided to review it.
I would give this book 4 STARS.
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