Thursday, December 20, 2012

Book Review: Come To The Table

I always like books by Neta Jackson.  She is a pretty well known Christian author, best known for the Yada Yada book series.  I don't know; I always analyze the amount of "Christian" in Christian fiction, if you know what I mean.  Very rarely do I see proper balance.  Some Christian fiction is just plain annoying, preachy characters, or pointless paragraphs which seem stuck in just for the sake of a "Christian" label.  And then there are novels which barely skim the surface, can barely be called Christian. 

Neta Jackson has a great balance.  Faith is carefully woven into her characters and they seem truly real.  It seems as though she has put careful thought into various phases her readers fall into.  How can I minister to a non-Christian through this novel?  How can I encourage someone whose faith is deeper?  But, her characters are just real and her spiritual agenda doesn't seem forced or unnatural.  Come to the Table is an excellent example.  A fun book to read, but also a good one I'd like to be able to pass on to someone who might gain greater meaning or growth from it.  I like that.  And it's not just a fluffy read at 400 pages, but they fly by and you'll find yourself missing the characters when the book is done. 

Come to the Table is book #2 in the Souled Out Sisters series.  However, the series still features some of the characters from the Yada Yada books as well.  Interestingly, this is the 16th novel following the story of the Yada Yada prayer group.  Now, my kids know Neta Jackson as Dave and Neta Jackson the authors of the Trailblazers Series.  This series is a definite Ayers family favorite!  There are 40 books in the series about various missionaries and people who served the Lord in powerful ways.  We'd all highly recommend them. 

Come to the Table is available from Thomas Nelson for $15.99.  You can purchase it HERE or for quite a bit less at cbd.com.  You can also visit Mrs. Jackson's website HERE for more information about her series, this site also has some sample chapters of the book you can check out.  I always highly recommend anything by Neta Jackson.  Come to the Table can be read even if you haven't read the 1st in the series, or any other of the companion series. 

I was given a copy of Come to the Table by B&B media group for the purposes of review only. 

1 comment:

Neta Jackson said...

Thank you so much for your review of "Come to the Table"! I so appreciate your kind and encouraging words about how the faith journeys of the characters are kept in balance with real life and real struggles. This is exactly what I want to do, and it means a lot that you would highlight that. And what fun to know that your family has read the TRAILBLAZER books too! Hugs from us both!--Neta and Dave Jackson