Reviewer: Amy Lignor
Title: Embrace Me
Author: Lisa Samson
Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers
ISBN-13: 978-1-5994-210-6
Release Date: March 2008
Genre/Sub-genre: Inspirational Fiction
Year/Setting: Present Day - USA
Overall Rating: 1.5
Sexual Content Rating: Subtle
Language (Profanity/Slang) Content Rating: None/Mild
Violent Content Rating: Minimal
Lisa's Website:
lisasamson.typepad.com
Dear Readers:
Let me start out with the fact that Lisa Samson writes very well. And, she’s gotten great reviews for her books, as well as Embrace Me, from the Library Journal and others. And…deservedly so.
With this book, the story starts out with a one-two punch. Valentine listens to the melodic, depressing strains of Embraceable You on an old phonograph, offering the reader a chance to see and hear for the first time, the emotional scarring that has taken place in Valentine’s life.
Lella is a quadriplegic and becomes friends with Valentine. They both work at the Roland Wayfaring Marvels and Oddities show (a traveling circus, basically). Their friendship is filled with frustration, love, respect, and a dependence on each other that makes it extremely hard to let go…ever.
Enter Drew. Dread-locked and mysterious, he scares the locals with his strange look and almost dangerous carriage. Is he dangerous? Or, is this a rather harsh lesson on not judging books by their covers. Can a man like Drew, with a hidden past, befriend a multiple amputee and a woman so brutally scarred by life – internally – that you barely know from one minute to the next if she wants to survive another page? Biggest lesson, of course: People are not sideshow freaks. There is something wonderful in every single one of us – no matter if we’re ‘perfect’ or not.
The lessons are wonderful and the characters are complex. I, however, spent most of my time hovering between complete confusion and complete boredom. This is my own opinion, of course. I like the adventure and excitement of a well-told tale that brings the reader along and takes them for a ride. I mean that in the commercial AND literary sense. I have read many inspirational books that are upbeat, warm, and take the time to teach very complex lessons to the reader. This one was not for me. I hope it’s for you.
Amy
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