My review of The Edge of Grace by Christa Allen.

About the book:

In a matter of seconds her entire world shifted... 

An early morning call shatters Caryn Becker's world. Unable to cope with her brother’s news that he is gay, Caryn rejects him and disappears into her own turbulent life as a young widow and single mom. But when David is attacked and nearly killed, Caryn is forced to make hard choices about family, faith, and her own future; choices that take her to the very edge of grace. 

My review:

Christa Allen does a great job at drawing a reader in to someone else's world. I couldn't tell you how many times I paused to think about the main character's internal thoughts while reading this book. I really felt bad for her being widowed so young, and being a single mom of a son, and then feeling like she'd lost her brother, when in reality she hadn't. She just lost her image of him and had to reframe everything she'd believed about him. 

I loved how the character questioning her assumptions made me think about my own. Especially when it comes to stereotypes. That Lady Gaga reference even made me laugh out loud while I was reading. The weird thing is that this story hit a bit close to home for me because right after my kids went to college last year (like literally the first month they were there) some guys were beaten up pretty badly and two were put in the hospital just because they were gay. The attackers knew this because they caught them leaving a "coming out" type party. That was scary for me because it happened where my kids went to school, and in a pretty "liberal" college town. It can happen anywhere. Hate crimes still happen and they are always wrong. Just like rape is always wrong. Great points there. 

Also good points about how knowing something about someone shouldn't make you love them any less. Granted, no one wants to think about what people do privately, but it's true that one of the first things people think about is sex. But we don't think that about other people when we first meet them, right? Good thoughts. Also good ones regarding judging. Only God knows the persons heart and where they really stand with him. It's not our job to decide who He accepts and who he isn't. I still don't know how I feel about the whole faith thing in regards to sexual relationships, but I am sure many Christians sin in the area in heterosexual relationships, too. Does that mean they won't go to heaven either? I guess that depends on your faith slant. I lean more towards grace and that God is greater than any sin we can commit. He can handle us. Truly. Nothing we can do is new under the sun, right? 

Anyway, all in all this was a brave story and well-told. I applaud the author's courage. I like books that make me think and especially make think more about my faith and how I treat people. This book does exactly that. This is one story that needed to be told and she was the perfect person to tell it.


The Edge of Grace was published by Abingdon and released in August 2011.