Meg Moseley's When Sparrows Fall ~ Reviewed

When Sparrows Fall
By Meg Moseley
Published by Multnomah Books, May, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-60142-355-9

Description

A widow and mother of six, Miranda Hanford leads a quiet, private life. When the pastor of her close-knit church announces his plans to move the entire congregation to another state, Miranda jumps at the opportunity to dissolve ties with Mason Chandler and his controlling method of ruling his flock. But then Mason threatens to unearth secrets from her past, and Miranda feels trapped, terrified she'll be unable to protect her children.

College professor Jack Hanford is more than surprised when he gets a call from his estranged sister-in-law's oldest son, Timothy, informing him that Miranda has taken a serious fall and he has been named legal guardian of her children while she recovers. Quickly charmed by Miranda's children, Jack brings some much-needed life into the sheltered household. But his constant challenging of the family's conservative lifestyle makes the recovering mother uneasy and defensive—despite Jack's unnerving appeal.

As Jack tries to make sense of the mysterious Miranda and the secrets she holds so tightly, Mason's pressure on her increases. With her emotions stirring and freedom calling, can Miranda find a way to unshackle her family without losing everything?

Review

With more layers than a wedding cake, When Sparrows Fall is a complex story of a mother's devotion that will not leave you untouched. Meg Moseley's characters will climb out of the pages and into your heart. Besides the rebellious Miranda, her children include Timothy, two adorable girls, and Jack dubs her youngest boys "the archangels." As unlikely as the pairing seems, I found myself hoping for romance to bloom between Jack and Miranda, but it seems Timothy had a different idea. Thoroughly enjoyable, Novel Journey and I give it a high recommendation.

Reviewed by: Ane Mulligan, editor Novel Journey



Bonus Review:

I was delighted to receive the review copy of Meg Moseley’s powerful, thought provoking debut novel. She gives the reader a peek into how an impressionable young girl falls for an older man and in the process loses more than her freedom, she loses her identity. Meg gives a chilling, believable scenario of what happens to Miranda when she marries a religious man who aims to control every aspect of her life, I couldn’t stop reading it!

Miranda’s a widow and mother of six children. Her world hasn’t changed much since her husband Carl died two years ago. Pastor Mason kept them on the straight and narrow. He visited Miranda’s family unexpectedly and constantly reminded Miranda that women should be focused on matters of the home. Mason also told her to never forget Carl was the absolute ruler in her home.

Pastor Mason announced to the whole church he’d heard from the Lord and the whole church was soon to move to another state. Miranda sensed her inner alarm bells ringing. She started to pray that the Lord would give her the courage to stand up to this man who enjoyed playing God and using his congregation like they were puppets. He was a wolf in sheep clothing – she had to expose him for what he was. God help her.

Then college professor, Jack Hanford enters Miranda’s life. Miranda is unnerved and relieved that Jack came to help. He just might be the help she needed to expose Mason for what he was. She wasn’t sure she could trust him though. Jack sees the strict rules this family lives by. He wanted to help them be free. Free to have fun and enjoy life and each other.

I enjoyed Meg Moseley’s writing style and Miranda’s six children and how the interacted with their Uncle Jack. Jack was the light in the darkness. Meg reveals many layers of Miranda’s complex life. Could she get out of this complicated web? I adored Jack, his love for his nieces and nephews and his passion for teaching young minds. Jack had a strong desire to expose these children to the world around them. First on the agenda was convincing Miranda reading fiction books was a good thing!

Meg’s story hooked me from the first page! I like how she handled this tough topic showing a scary scenario of control and one girl’s courage to do the right thing no matter what the cost. I was totally absorbed into this story as Meg reminded me of the precious gift we all take for granted – religious freedom – freedom to worship Him and not follow a bunch of rules that kill people’s spirit! This was potent. I can’t wait to see where Meg takes us next!

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent
The Book Club Network
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