Book Review: After the Leaves Fall

http://blog.booksontheknob.org/I love to read!  I have always loved to read!  Now that I am a wife and the mother of a toddler, I don't always get time to read.  Sometimes, I make time by staying up late to read.  I pay for it the next day, but at least I get my book fix in!

One of the blogs that I follow is called Books on the Knob and it has allowed me to expand my reading library without sacrificing space.  They post about free and almost-free ebooks available from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and several other sources.  I recommend this blog if you want to get free books for your reading habit.  However, keep in mind that they post about a variety of different books including books that I would not recommend to anyone (erotica, witchcraft/occult, and other sinful topics).

An ebook that I read recently is After the Leaves Fall by Nicole Baart.  It's about a teenage girl named Julia who has suffered some hard times.  Her mother left her when she was nine years old, and her father passed away when she was about 14.  She also falls in love with her best friend Thomas who later breaks her heart.  Most of the story focuses on her freshman year of college where she majors in engineering and dates the TA of one of her classes.

The story left me wanting more -- not because it was such a great book, but rather because it lacked plot, depth, meaning, and a satisfying ending.  It was interesting enough to keep me reading it, but unless I can get the sequel for free, it's not interesting enough for me to read the sequel.  I was disappointed in the choices that the girl made -- although, for her to keep the baby is the RIGHT choice.  (Sorry for the plot-buster.)  The discussion questions at the end alluded to how she found her way back to God and I frankly just did not see that in the book.  The ending made mention that she was seeking, but that part of the story was not well-developed at all.  It made it seem like this is the kind of book that "you only know it's a Christian book because they stick a few Bible verses in it and mention God once or twice."  If you take those few mentions out, you are not left with a Christian book at all.

And the little chick story?  Totally did not get that at all.  If you get it, feel free to enlighten me in the comments.