How many of us look at the past and think: “If only….”? Maybe we don’t think about it in exactly that manner but we still can see those choices and decisions we made and wonder what results a different decision might have made. This story has a good helping of “if onlys”. The mother especially is plagued by second guessing her past decisions and struggles with her current dilemma. Alternating from the mother to the daughter, the author presents the story as it unfolds from the mother’s current perspective to the daughter’s perspective starting a year earlier when they moved from their home. The story is laced with suspense as the events unfold. The surprises seem to be waiting around every turn. I enjoyed the story and recommend it for the lessons about healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation. I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.
This is a very emotional story of how divorce hurts a family causing pain and strained relationships. Elizabeth and her teenage children move to Spokane, WA from Lincoln City, Oregon after the divorce of Elizabeth and her husband Bruce. Lilly is Elizabeth's seventeen year old daughter but the only father she has ever known is Bruce, who adopted her when she was young. Jordan is the son of Elizabeth and Bruce. Elizabeth was deeply hurt by the divorce. In addition to the pain of the divorce, Lilly is having trouble dealing with the move because her boyfriend, Marcus, is back in Lincoln City. As the story starts, it is July 3rd and Elizabeth is going to spend the night with her friend Jess. There is a lot of strain between Elizabeth and Lilly as there is between many teenagers and their parents. At a 4th of July party involving the neighborhood, Elizabeth realizes that Lilly has not been with Jess when she sees Jess but Lilly is not with her and Jess said she has not been with her. Lilly is missing and no one seems to know where she is. We really feel Elizabeth's fear and pain as the days stretch on with no word. Bruce seems to have moved on and not as concerned as he should be. The police take her statement but just list Lilly as a runaway. Elizabeth has to be strong for Jordan and keep living but it is very hard. She feels helpless and alone. A friend Cole, who lost his own daughter, offers his help and together they check out every lead that they hear about. Jordan spends lots of time gaming with his friend Brock who lives next door and this allows Elizabeth and Cole the freedom to search and check out leads. Elizabeth is suspicious of a neighbor man who is creepy acting. She and Cole followed him one night because he had a pattern of leaving each night at 7:00 with a duffel. He wound up a warehouse but nothing of suspicion was discovered. They even check out homeless people to see if they can find Lilly living on the streets.
TK Chapin does a wonderful job of allowing us into Elizabeth's heart and mind to see her pain, frustration and fear. On the other hand, we see what Lilly is feeling leading up to her disappearance. She is so in love with Marcus that she can't really settle into her new life and blames her mom for all of her pain to the point of thinking that she hates her. We know that deep down she loves her mom but her emotions are so high that her mom is where she places the blame for her unhappiness. She does have a faith and a great memory for scripture verses that she learned in youth group that help her deal with her situation. In fact, Elizabeth's faith has faded some with the divorce but with Lilly's disappearance, she finds she needs God. This an emotional story of a mother's love that never fails and faith that she will eventually hear from Lilly even when events look like she may not. It brings to mind that no matter what happens to us that God's love will sustain us through it all. It is a story of forgiveness, acceptance, unconditional love and reliance on God for strength. There is suspense and a surprise twist in the end that is unexpected. I recommend this special and inspirational story.
Thanks to TK Chapin for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review.
For Elizabeth (Liz), if coping with divorce from Bruce wasn’t enough, a year later her daughter Lillian (Lilly) hasn’t accepted that her parent’s marriage is over either and she now struggles with dealing with Lilly’s sullenness. Lilly blames her mom even though she doesn’t know the real story.
On July 4th Lilly is supposed to spend the night with her friend, Jess, but according to Jess she never showed up and she didn’t come home. She just seemed to disappear. At first Liz thought she might be with her boyfriend, Marcus, but he denied she was with him. The police didn’t seem concerned so with the help of her neighbor, Cole, they launched a full-scale search to find out what happened to Lilly and try to make sense of why.
The character of Liz is so well developed as a mother; her story melts your heart as she struggles to find her daughter and to keep life some-what normal for her son, Jordan. With Cole’s help they search tirelessly for Lilly and along the way learn to give it over to God.
This book shows the great love of a mother, but also the greater love of God. This story will stay in your heart long after you have read it. In my opinion this is definitely a must-read. There are so many twists and turns to this book, it will keep you turning the pages.
It is filled with mystery, drama, intrigue, love, forgiveness and a little bit of reluctant romance.
Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this eBook for free by the author T.K. Chapin for review, T K Chapin. I was not compensated for my review nor was I required to make a favorable review. All thoughts in this review are mine.
This story revolves around a family broken and separated by divorce. Bruce, the father, remains in Lincoln City, OR. The mother (Elizabeth) and the children (Lily and Jordan) move to Spokane, WA. Both Lily and Jordan are distraught over both the divorce and the move. Lily is also very emotional and upset because she has to leave her boyfriend, Marcus, back in Lincoln City. These issues cause stained relationships especially between Lily and her mom.
Once the move is complete, Jordan becomes friends with a boy next door (Brock). They hang out and do a great deal of gaming together. Lily, on the other hand, remains very emotional and upset; thus blaming her mom for everything that has happened.
At a 4th of July party, Elizabeth finds out Lily is not who she is supposed to be with nor where she is supposed to be. No one has seen her. Under the circumstances, the police just consider it a teenage runaway. Elizabeth and a friend (Cole) begin following up on leads and doing their own investigation. Has Lily run away? Has she been kidnapped? Will she be found alive?
"If Only" is an excellent book. It is not the typical book we normally see from Mr. Chapin. It is still a Christian novel, and there is some romance thrown in; but there is much more suspense in it. There are also lessons to be learned about parent-teenager relationships, forgiveness, and how to rely on God when you are going through difficult situations. It is very inspirational, and I highly recommend it to everyone. I have personally read all of Mr Chapin's books; and this is, by far, my favorite! Thank you, Mr. Chapin, for such a fantastic page turner!
This book was provided to me for free because I nominated it on Kindle Scout, and it was chosen for publication by Kindle Press. Congratulations Mr chapin! For the free book, I was to write a fair and honest review. All views and opinions expressed here are strictly that of the reader. No monetary compensation was received for this review. It was an honor and a privilege to read this book and provide a review!
