The Story Keeper - A Review

Published - August 2014, Tyndale House Publishers
Author - Lisa Wingate
Title - The Story Keeper
Format - ebook, paper
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Jen Gibbs is looking forward to the new opportunities she has as an editor with the Vida Publishing House in NYC. This is a small publishing house that produces quality. On her first day on the job, she is introduced to Slush Mountain, a pile of old unpublished manuscripts, with instructions of not touching it. When a mysterious manuscript from Slush Mountain appears on her desk, Jen's first thought is to figure out how to put it back without anyone knowing. Yet then curiosity gets the best of her and she finds herself drawn into the story of Sarra, a young girl living in Appalachia around the late 1800's. Jen's search for both more of the manuscript and the author lead her to the one place she never thought she'd return to - her home deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Yet could the answers she seeks be found in the home she vowed she'd never return to?

Wow! Literally, that's about all I can say about this book. I wasn't sure what to expect when I request this one to review, as I'd never read any of Lisa Wingate's books before. I was told that this one started off slow and was hard to get into. I guess for some people that may be the case. But for me, I was drawn into it immediately. I really didn't want to put it down (even on Tuesday night while my favorite TV show of NCIS was airing a NEW episode). I was utterly and completely captivated by both Jen and her search for answers and manuscript she found - the story of Sarra and Rand.

This was well written, practically spell-binding and very deep. I loved how Jen found her answers and even managed to reconcile with her family. What really fascinated me though was Sarra. The parts of the book that told her story had me turning page after page because I was just soaking it up. I also liked how somethings were implied at the end but not specifically stated. That meant that I could let the characters live on in my imagination and follow the implications.

This book reminds of so much as to what I loved about classic Karen Kingsbury or Francine Rivers's books. And that is characters that seem to take on a life of their own off the page and just capture me fully. I will definitely be reading more by Lisa Wingate. My only question, is which one to start with next?

I received this book for free from Tyndale Publishers for the purpose of reviewing. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of Karen Kingsbury, Francine Rivers, Contemporary fiction

Rating - 5 stars