Who Do I Talk To? - Neta Jackson

[goodreads]

Title: Who Do I Talk To?
Author: Neta Jackson
Genre: Christian fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 393
Date read: October, 2009

Gabby Fairbanks's husband locks her out and disappears with her sons, leaving her homeless and stunned. With her frail mother and a mutt named Dandy, Gabby must take refuge at the women's shelter where she works, trying to salvage the shattered pieces of her life. There, her new friends-including Lucy the bag lady and sisters from the Yada Yada Prayer Group-prop her up.

But a midnight intruder brings unwanted media attention to the shelter and threatens to undermine Gabby's chances of getting her sons back. Still hoping to put her family together again, Gabby puzzles over what to do with the warm attentions of a sympathetic lawyer who rebuilds her confidence and soothes her wounded spirit.

Neta Jackson redeemed herself in this second book in the House of Hope series. I had been extremely disappointed by Where Do I Go?, because it ended on such a depressing note, and had seemed pretty pointless - using the entire book to get the main character down as low as she could get.

In Who Do I Talk To? it becomes apparent why Neta Jackson did this. I still think it's an extremely risky venture to write the first book in a series like that. If I hadn't already been introduced to her writing through the Yada Yada series, I think I would have given up on her then and there. As it was, it was with some reluctance I picked up the second book, and for once, I didn't start reading it immediately.

But thankfully the atmosphere was completely different. Still not as upbeat as in the Yada Yada series, but taking the topic into consideration, that would have been completely inappropriate. However, it was a lot more positive, and I ended up laughing and crying together with Gabby.

The characters were better fleshed out (especially Gabby's father-in-law) and I enjoyed getting to know them better, and seeing them interact with Gabby and her mother. And I LOVED the ending.

Still nowhere as inspirational as the Yada Yada series, Neta Jackson has "won me back", and I'll definitely be purchasing Who Do I Lean On? once it comes out... which unfortunately won't be until June 2010.

Comments

Thanks for hanging in there with me!

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks for hanging in there with me and the House of Hope series. I know the ending of "Where Do I Go" was tough, but I'd like to gently disagree with you that it wasn't "pointless." For Gabby to know she could turn to the One who'd been there all the time (all the years she'd been ignoring Him) when everything else was falling apart WAS the point! And that's true for all of us. Even when everything around us is sinking sand, we can "go to the Rock" as the song says.

But obviously I couldn't leave Gabby there. Yes, in "Who Do I Talk To?" Gabby begins to discover what's she made of and that God has a purpose for what she's been through . . . so I'm glad the ending of the second book was full of that hope and promise. I hope you enjoy the third book ("Who Do I Lean On?") coming out next June.

Be blessed!
Neta Jackson
Author, the Yada Yada Prayer Group series and
The Yada Yada House of Hope series

Come visit us on our web site: www.daveneta.com

Re: Thanks for hanging in there with me!

[bogormen.livejournal.com]

It always gives me a thrill to see one of my favourite authors commenting on my blog! Thank you for taking the time to visit.

Actually, we don't disagree at all. I wrote that the ending seemed pointless. After I read "Who Do I Turn To?" I knew that it wasn't, but it took the sequel to explain your reasons for ending the first book as you did.

By itself "Where Do I Go?" seems like a depressing story. Coupled with "Who Do I Turn To?" we see that it's a story of redemption instead. So it all depends on the bigger picture.

So I still hold to that the ending of "Where Do I Go? seemed pointless when I first read the book. However, having read "Who Do I Turn To?" I know that it wasn't.