“A Return to Meadow Wood” was a challenging read for me for a few reasons. I had a bit of a tough time becoming invested in this story, and found myself wondering what the point was for a good portion of the beginning… It doesn’t seem to really have a ‘hook’ until quite a ways in, even though we know Jack is struggling internally, I just felt kept at an arm’s length from the emotions. While the prose itself is quite lovely, it takes too long for us feel invested where we just *have* to keep reading to see what will happen next. I do appreciate what the author was trying to do here, and think his message was a very good one. I liked all the characters, form Jack to Jhonny and Doc and Mattie and even Leroy (and all the others). But once I really got into the story (maybe about ½ way in) things
turned around for me and I felt myself connecting more. The storm scene was quite powerful, and the war scenes very authentic feeling, as is Jack’s struggle with depression and PTSD. This is a book that will appeal most to fans of religious/historical fiction and is takes place in the recent past and has a strong message of Christian God’s love and power.
Layla