New giveaway! Enter to win No Greater Love by Kathi Macias!

To enter for a chance to win this book from the author, simply post a comment having to do with apartheid in South Africa. I'll pick a winner via the Randomizer program next Sunday, July 25th. I'll go first... My first introduction to apartheid was back when I was a kid. I remember the students at Syracuse University camping out on the school lawns in little "shanty towns" to protest apartheid. It had a lasting impression on my memory as I can still picture the people protesting with signs and living in those tents.



About the book:

Forbidden romance, an unlikely martyr and an even more unlikely hero. Orphaned four years earlier when their parents, active in the African National Congress ANC movement against apartheid, were murdered16-year-old Chioma and her 15-year-old brother Masozi now live and work on an Afrikaner family's farm. When Chioma and Andrew, the farm owners son, find themselves attracted to one another, tragedy revisits their lives. Chioma escapes to join an ANC rebel band in her effort to survive and gain revenge for her family and culture. When cultures clash in life-or-death struggles, Chioma must choose between violence and revenge or forgiveness and selfless love. Loosely based on historical events and set near Pretoria, South Africa, in the violent upheaval prior to ANC leader Nelson Mandela's release from prison in 1990 and his ascendancy to the presidency of South Africa, this story of forbidden romance produces an unlikely martyr who is replaced by one even more unlikely.

My review:

No Greater Love is an amazing tale about the troubled heart of a young South African woman who learns the meaning of sacrificial love from people she least expected. This story is similar to Scared by Tom Davis, which I adored, except that No Great Love deals with Apartheid and true Christian faith as opposed to the AIDS epidemic. This story begins in a powerful way and I was enthralled with the storyline. Then I read in disbelief as the world around this young woman crumbled. I wasn't sure how the author would be able to keep me reading after the devastation that occurred. But I was curious and kept reading only to discover that the story continued just as powerfully even with an entirely different set of circumstances. I could not stop reading this story and was emotionally moved by the plot and the amazing characterization. The pacing was excellent and the spiritual thread was strong. This is a novel that is life-giving and inspiring. Just how willing are we to be used of God despite the potentially negative consequences that might occur from our obedience? This wonderful story makes you think hard on that subject. I highly recommended it!