Reclaimed

by Jennifer Rodewald

[phyllish]

Reclaimed by Jennifer Rodewald

A moving story of restoration of hearts

Suzanna’s father purchased land that had been destroyed through misuse and was considered worthless. He set about reclaiming and restoring it and through his careful management, he turned it into some of the most valuable and sought-after land in the area.

I loved this book so much!! It is the story of broken people being made whole. Of a patient and enduring love that never gives up and never fails. It is full of hope and has such a peaceful tone despite the turmoil in the lives of the characters and even has appropriate touches of humor throughout. The writing is so good and the dialog is some of the most naturally written that I have read in a book. It was so clever of the author the way she wove the analogy of broken things being reclaimed and redeemed into the fabric of the book in the many ways that she did.

Paul is now somewhere at the top of my list of favorite heroes. A cowboy with a deep abiding love for his land and his cattle. Swoon! I had never before considered that a rancher might actually care for the individual bovines he owns and would hurt over the pain of the cows when separated from their calves or over the loss of a calf – and not for financial loss.

Having overcome a rough past, he understood redemption in a very personal way. He still wasn’t perfect – the book started out with him making some wrong judgments about what Suzanna was like and he struggled with anger. However, he had an amazing relationship with his family and was a man who knew what he wanted and was willing to do what he had to in order to get it. His tenacious pursuit of Suzanna was a beautiful picture of how Jesus pursues us. Oh, and I kept smiling as his originally derisive nickname of Pickle ended up being an endearment he used in various forms.

True confession. Sometimes when I read a book about a character suffering grief and they keep holding on to their pain, I get frustrated and think, “Can’t she just get a grip and move forward?” I hope this isn’t a lack of compassion on my part and have felt a little like it must be me. Reading Reclaimed where it takes most of the book for Suzanna to heal has shown me I’m not a terrible person. Because I didn’t feel that way at all in this book. I saw the hope and felt great concern for her but I wasn’t frustrated at an attempt by the author to try to convince me how terrible she was feeling because that didn’t happen. Author Jennifer Rodewald did a fantastic job of making sure I saw the deep wounds without making it obnoxious or tiresome.

One of my absolute favorite moments in the book was when Paul and Suzanna were at his river property with his sister and her kids, loading the cattle. He was so overwhelmed with joy that he began to hum “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”. And it turned into a mini-praise session as the family joined in. Wow! How do you not fall in love with a cowboy like that?

I could go on and on about how much I loved this book but it would be silly for me to do that. After all, you should just read it yourself instead of reading my gushing. Go on. Get a copy. What’s stopping you?


This review was originally posted on Among the Reads

I would like to thank Jennifer Rodewald for giving me a copy of this book. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.