Fear is a weak emotion to have because it pulls us in every which way it wants. Being prepared to face your fears is not only courageous but down-right scary in itself. The main character of "When Sparrows Fall" by Meg Moseley, in her debut novel, has to learn to face her fears. The difference is that she knew what the unknown held and knew what she needed to do to protect herself and her children.
The story is based in a small town of Slades Creek, Georgia. A young widow has six children named Miranda Hanford. Her husband had died two years before that and has tried her best to raise her children in an extremely strict religious home that her husband had set up. The pastor of her church has a private meeting for single women and widows and announces that they are all selling their homes and moving to McCabe, North Carolina. This announcement has stirred up something in Miranda that she had long ago abandoned when she married into this church. Freedom.
Shortly after this meeting she has a terrible accident and luckily has a half brother-in-law that comes to her rescue despite his lack of knowledge of her family. She had made him guardian in case anything happened to her only two weeks before. When Jack Hanford comes to become the guardian, he was in for a shock. The children were so far from the mainstream that they didn't even know who Dr. Seuss was or even read To Kill A Mockingbird. The two girls wore old-fashioned capes and denim dresses with braids. The four boys were lucky enough to wear more "normal" clothing. All the children were "too good" has Jack would say.
Jack takes on the job of showing these children that there was more to life outside the church and slowly opening the door for their mother to give them freedom that she had longed for them to find. But that freedom came with cost. Miranda needed to do it her way or everything could come apart and she could lose her children forever. At least she had Jack in case anything happened to herself but could she trust him?
There is only one secret that Miranda is terrified to speak about, something she has held into her heart and her mind for many years. The one secret that could ruin her beautiful life and beautiful children. Can Jack find the answers he has been looking for and is he the key to their freedom from the shackles the church has created?
This book touched me in several ways. I loved the descriptive writing of Meg Moseley. As a photographer myself, it touched me to read the following:
"Except for the tears, her vision was clear as she aimed the empty camera towards the sunrise, framing it in the window pane. Off center, to make the eye pay attention. Like stories that didn't have neat endings, Jack had said. They left doors open. They made him think about the possibilities."
Pg. 332, When Sparrows Fall, Meg Moseley
Photographers have an art and ability to see things others may not notice. It is what entices others to look a second looking at some of the most beautiful photography available. There is never one meaning. This is how life truly is, full of possibilities. Freedom of choice.
I will read this book again and again.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Waterbrook Multonmah Publishing Group as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
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