Hallowed Halls by Hannah Alexander
Christian Writers Guild Publishing
©2014, 269 pgs
From the back of the book:
"When Dr. Joy Gilbert is fired from her lucrative position in
the city, she returns to her small hometown to find her ex-boss’s 15-year-old
daughter popping out the back door of her car.
Tressa refuses to return to the city where her divorced parents are
battling in the wake of her brother’s death.
Instead of the peace Joy seeks, she finds her former fiancé, Zach,
single again, and her once vivacious mother struggling financially and
physically. Tressa’s rebellion threatens
Joy’s career, but that threat becomes secondary when it appears that Tressa
suffers from a life threatening illness.
Joy and Zach must learn how to heal their emotional wounds to save
Tressa’s life."
This Medical Romance/Family Drama is written for adults but
suitable for teens 16 and up.
Hallowed Halls shows the real life struggle that happens
when a person is emotionally injured by “The Church” as well as people close to
them. The husband and wife author team
brings into the story the themes of Faith Lost and Restored, Hearts Healed by
Truth Revealed, and Greater Purpose-the ability to look beyond our own
selfishness and see that there are others that need us and we need them. Communication or the lack of is usually at
the root of our relationship problems.
Whether we are fighting with our parents, spouse, children, best friend,
or boyfriend/girlfriend, it usually boils down to poor communication. After reading this book, I found the main gem
for me to be the importance of being “swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to
wrath” –James 1:19.
Sensitive Topics:
There is no foul language, however, there are adult
relational issues that rise up as well as an act of violence described and real
life health situations that make this book sensitive for young readers.
There is talk of not “putting out” to retain her job by
Joy. Very little kissing is spoken of
and sexual purity is maintained throughout the entire book.
Weston shows up to Joy’s house and has been drinking.
The Pain Clinic Joy works for at the start of the book prescribes
Narcotics to patients. Joy has a problem
with her boss wanting her to “push” narcotics onto her patients as an answer to
all of their problems.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would encourage
others who like a good Uplifting Romance to dive into this one.
