Shadow Sister

by Katherine Scott Jones

[phyllish]

Shadow Sister by Katherine Scott Jones

Guilt and secrets had held her captive

My rating is 4.5 stars

Jenna was part of a Christian organization that was involved in helping the people in third-world countries access clean, pure water. As strange as this may sound, they had to overcome centuries of superstition and tradition to help the people change their way of life and be willing to have wells installed. In my naivety, I have always assumed that when offered better access to clean water, people jumped at the opportunity!

Secret Sister showed many aspects of life in Bolivia. It is a harsh, yet beautiful place to be. Just reading about the bugs and creatures that came through the walls into the houses creeped me out! Eww!

I loved the way that Jenna and her sister Sarah saw Jesus and His love for women. I had never noticed what the author pointed out, that in His interactions, Jesus never rebuked or reprimanded women the way he did the men. As I read through the Gospels, I will be watching for this, though my memory is already confirming this fact.

Jenna realized that the secrets she had been keeping were holding her captive and after all these years was finally ready to return home and confess. Sadly, she was too late! Dear friends, don’t hold on to secrets. Jesus told us that the truth would set us free.
The description of the book fascinated me and had me wanting to read it. I wasn’t sure what to expect. . .

The ending of the prologue had me a little concerned that the “shadow sister” was going to end up being a spirit speaking to her sister but I was quickly reassured that was not the case. Whew! That wasn’t what I had signed up for!

There were a few things that I did not like in the story. It was told in a third-person, present tense style, except for the flashbacks. I am not a fan of present-tense writing and have not read many stories where it “worked”. The only ones I can think of that didn’t feel awkward were told in the first person.

There is a place near the beginning where the author speaks of abominable treatment of young girls and goes into far more detail than I think was necessary. I was completely unprepared to encounter this in the book and felt blindsided and my stomach was turned. I do think I understand why this was there – to set the stage and soften my heart for the plight of women and girls in other countries. I believe it could have been presented in a way that wasn’t as detailed and yet still impactful. Because of this inclusion, I would hesitate recommending this for anyone other than adults.


Read the full review of Shadow Sister by Katherine Scott Jones with a Preview at AmongTheReads.net

I was given a free copy of this item. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.