Convincing and charismatic, Forgiving Ararat, is that rare and fascinating tale. I can think of only a handful of books that I might be able offer forward as this one, being both spellbinding, and yet such an example of original thought.

Author Gita Nazareth%u2019s otherworldly novel has been wooing crowds in Heaven and at last, has made it to earth%u2019s lesser shores. Forgiving Ararat embraces and reflects what is most painful and most powerful about our human condition. What is gratifying is this novel does it in the manner we find echoed in all our most precious books; those special ones which tuck into our hearts and that stay with us all our lives.

Untangling flawed main character Brek Cuttler, either in her thirty-one years of troubled living, or her confusing looping, long, afterlife, is an ambitious task. Our confusion over the mystery and mood of this imperfect young woman%u2019s troubled past and present, hold a remorseless draw even as shifting secrets reveal themselves.

I found myself occasionally wearied by plot twists and ominous portents still spilling loose, or as time and vantage shifted yet again. Yet, such minor annoyances were barely worth the breath it takes to report.

Though very different in tone and analysis from William P Young%u2019s The Shack, many readers will be drawn, understandably, to Forgiving Ararat, for both novels do seek invitation to mercy, forgiveness and love as paths to true redemption.

Forgive me for saying this, but Brek Cuttler learns the more complex lesson of the two books; one I shall not give away here only to say the dual devotion at Ararat as a pledge and a promise, is tacit at the heart%u2019s end of this great tale.

Young mother and wife, Brek, carries childhood wounds, psychic and more, forward into an immature adult life. Many pay the price for her adolescent mind, yet my own compassion for the losses Brek could not recognize at journey%u2019s start make this a painful grief of a tale.

Dante wrote in Paradiso XVII: You will leave everything you love most: this is the arrow that the bow of exile shoots first. Heartbreakingly this is the truth learned by Brek Cuttler and other characters, who move, maimed, across human and heavenly time here.

Equally powerful, the novel ached as bildungsroman, a coming of age tale. Brek Cuttler blunders, fails; is selfish, and childish. All unwilling, and yet not, she makes a most grueling scuffle and toil toward maturity. She is loathsome but she is also tender innocent, much like Harper Lee%u2019s Scout– were it a kinder day– and a better life, and a gentler view. As indeed is possible for all characters in this tale, if spared righteousness, man or divinity, or what passes for in-between.

For some perhaps it is the channel of his peace, or the peace of Gita Nazareth%u2019s kind eye swinging with enough hope from Zion. For it is by forgiving that one is forgiven.

If you are looking for more of an endorsement, you won%u2019t any clearer. This one is shining bright for all that it rests quietly on earth. Seek to comfort, seek the book, and seek me out if I am wrong. Better yet, pass along the good news yourself. If it does not sing to you, let it be. Another can use the light.

An engaging, and thought provoking, novel about a young “preacher’s kid” who struggles to fit into the typical “preacher’s kid” mold, this novel raises many important questions regarding many very difficult issues. When Mia finds out her best friend is gay, she has to determine for herself how she feels about this. Using what she knows to be true, God’s Word, she begins a careful study that results in a deeper, more solid faith than she had previously. And when her Christian brother shares openly about some struggles he has had, and how he dealt with them, Mia is both confused and encouraged. But in the end, she finds comfort, and understanding, in the unchanging Word of God.

Obviously, this book deals with some very tough issues and may be inappropriate for younger or more sheltered readers, but for those who are exposed to issues like homosexuality, infidelity, new-age philosophy, drug-use and other issues that seem to bombard our children from every angle, this book does a great job of addressing those issues in a biblical way. Written in perhaps what some would call a culturally relevant way, some of the language (slang words used) might be offensive to some more sheltered readers, but again, for those who have been exposed to this already,this book could be a great asset and discussion tool. I do recommend that parents read it first and prepare their answers, from a biblical perspective, ahead of time. Discussion questions are provided at the end of the book.