Grace (Richard Paul Evans)

I just started reading Grace last night and was instantly immersed in the book. It's a quick read that actually makes you feel as though you are there with the characters, and experiencing the events. It also transports you to a time when life was simpler and families were the center of everyone's life. And how when things go wrong, there is someone out there to reach out a helping hand, just because it's the right thing to do. I can't wait to finish the book...

I have always seemed to enjoy Richard Evans' holiday books, and this years book, Grace, was no exception. It was just a wonderful story, beautifully narrated, a story that deals with family dysfunction, and mature subject matter. The narrator recalls his first love in 1962 at the age of fourteen.......... "My memory, like my eyesight, has waned with age and I pray I can get the story right. Still, there are things that become clearer to me as I grow older. This much I know: too many things were kept secret in those days. Things that never should have been hidden. And things that should have. Who was she? She was my first love. My first kiss. She was a little match girl who could see the future in the flame of a candle. She was a runaway who taught me more about life than anyone has before or since. And when she was gone my innocence left with her". This is one book that you will want to start and finish in one sitting. Also, if certain books tend to bring a tear to your eye... Read more

I want to say at the outset that I like Richard Paul Evans' books. He is a terrific story teller, and the settings and situations he creates are believable and true. He has a lot of heart in his stories. That being said, I think he is a better story teller than writer. His style is emotionally manipulative and blatant in his desire to be dramatic. Evans' intent is a little too obvious at times. He wants us to FEEL something about his characters, but instead of letting us feel it on our own he forces it. I find that frustrating. The one thing that bothered me the most about his book was Grace's journal entries. They were unnecessary, and rang so false that I cringed when I read them. They took away some of the impact of the story for me. Sixteen-year-old girls don't talk like that. It sounded more like what a fifty-year-old man THOUGHT a sixteen-year-old girl would think. Not true. It was distracting. At any rate, besides Evans' heavy handed approach, this is truly a... Read more

This is a wonderful story told by a wise narrator, who looks back over the years to his first love, the tragedy that followed, and the purpose that he discovered for his life. I had not read any of Evans' novels before, and after reading a short summary, I was afraid that this would be overly sentimental and saccharine. My fears were groundless. The story is believable, realistic, and well told. There is nothing pretentious or preachy here, just a heartfelt expression of the author's faith. The sadness and tragedy are not nuanced or downplayed. I cried several times in this book. It is a sad story, and the ending is very uplifting, but it does not bring a relief of sadness. I found it to be very realistic. The writer brings the worldview of a 14 year old boy clearly into focus. He shows Eric's worries, awkwardness, his lack of control over his own life, and the beginnings of his independence from the adults around him. Reading about Eric's struggles, I remembered once again those... Read more

"Grace" is a heart-touching story covering a few short months of 1962. The life of teenagers. Family love and family hurt. Grace is a meaningful Christmas story of giving and receiving. Grace is a story filled with finding faith through troubles and pains. But a runaway teen, Grace, one of the 2 main characters of the book, also found Christmas joy, and hope in the flickering of a candle flame. There is a life-time of soul and love packed into the written memory of the fictional young pair, Grace and Eric. They learned more of life in 3 months from the inside of a crude "clubhouse" than most of us learn in a lifetime. Richard Paul Evans, through his inspired writing, shares that knowledge. We can learn from the youth. You WILL NOT be able to stop reading this book until you reach the last page, guaranteed. Taking a bit of leeway with 16-year-old Grace Webb's Christmas poem written to Eric: "I WOULD"...If only I could buy everyone this book. I would. This is a must-buy gift... Read more