REVIEW: "Interrupted" by Rachel Coker
About the Book:
✦ Full title: Interrupted: A Life Beyond Words
✦ Author: Rachel Coker
✦ Genre: Christian fiction set in the 1930s & 1940s (w/ some romance but it's light)
✦ Series: Seems to be a standalone novel
✦ Recommend for: 14/15+
My Personal Rating
3⭐️
📖 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.
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
After enjoying a lot of elements of "Chasing Jupiter" by this author, I decided to give her debut novel a try. It certainly wasn't a bad read, but I was hoping to enjoy it more. It's probably about a 3 or maybe a 3.5 star rating for me. Good and enjoyable enough, just not remarkable, and there were things here and there that I didn't care for.
Having a part 1 and part 2 in a book that is only about 250 pages, set in times just a few years apart, was an interesting choice but not an aspect I loved. The pacing thus felt a little off to me, though I do like the author's writing style. Also, in part 1, Allie did not feel like she was 14 at all, and throughout the whole book, I found her rather annoying/frustrating at times and I wasn't a big fan of how her character arc played out.
There were many nods to Emily Dickinson throughout and I really appreciated that because she is my favorite poet. The setting was also neat, it touched on some interesting themes, and the ending was sweet, I suppose. So again, I liked certain things. However, I wasn't the biggest fan of other parts, especially Allie's temperamentality and certain random comments and conversations.
Random thought once I finished reading: I'm really not sure why the title is Interrupted. Perhaps I'm missing something, but I honestly don't see how that name relates to the story.😅
Overall, while not bad, due to several different elements, I preferred the author's other book.
⚠️ Some broad content notes
No language stronger than 'darn'; Allie’s mother has brain cancer, with symptoms and hardships shown on the page; themes include paternal abandonment (her father left), disbelief in God and negative views of Christians, loss and grief, and adoption-related tension; some light romance towards the end.
Bookishly yours,
Lottie M
