Beth Vogt's Catch a Falling Star ~ Reviewed

Catch a Falling Star

By Beth K. Vogt

Published by Howard Books

ISBN#978-1451660272

336 Pages

Back Cover: Is life about accomplishing plans . . . or wishes coming true . . . or something more?

Dr. Kendall Haynes’s plans to have it all—a career, a husband, a family—are eluding her. Now that she’s thirty-six, she needs to stop wishing upon a star and face reality: Some dreams just never come true.

Air Force pilot Griffin Walker prefers flying solo in the air and on the ground—until a dangerous choice ejects him from the cockpit. His life becomes even more complicated after the sudden death of his parents makes him the guardian of his sixteen-year-old brother. There’s no way his life will ever get back on course now.

When their lives collide during a near tragedy, Kendall and Griffin must decide if they can embrace the unexpected changes God has waiting for them.

Review: I’m thankful for the review copy of a book that introduced me to a new author. I enjoyed the interview that was included in this book. I liked this question and Beth’s answer. “What do you hope readers take away from this story?”

Her answer, “Everyone experiences life not going according to their plans – the out comes range from humorous to tragic – What I’ve learned – And what I hope readers discover – is God is in the plans, the dreams that come true, and he’s also in the plans that elude us.”

God knew what was ahead of us all the time. The surprise is to us. It was fun to be reminded of this and many other truths through her characters. They are honest, real and transparent. Loved that!

Catch a Falling Star reeled me in with characters I instantly cared for and a story that grabbed my heart. I enjoyed hanging out with Dr. Kendall Hayne and her thirty something year old friends! They had gathered together to celebrate Kendall’s thirty sixth birthday. Her friend Rachel announces her engagement at the get together and shows off her ring. She’s happy for her friend but reality hits Kendall hard. She thinks, “Was there anyway to have it all and be happy?...where some dreams meant to never come true?”

Air Force pilot Griffin Walker is faced with a few disappointments of his own! He’s had dreams shattered and he was experiencing a string of unfortunate events that were getting the better of him. Life was hitting him hard. It seemed he didn’t have time to recover from one blow when the next one hit. My heart went out to him as I watched him struggle. He wondered where was God in all this?

I love how this author naturally wove the spiritual thread into this story and how real her characters where in facing hard times. The themes running through this novel are singleness, adoption, loss of dreams and loved ones, and about relationships on many levels.

The author says in an interview, “All of these relationships (in Catch a Falling Star) fall under the umbrella of life not going according to plan….Infact, relationships rarely do: they require hard work. Commitment. Trust. Prayer. Patience. Sacrifice. This is why I say there is more to happily ever after than the fairy tales tell us.”

Kendall struggles with a new thought, “What if the prince had never shown up to rescue the princess from the castle?

The princess would still be a princess…It wasn’t the prince that made the princess valuable. It was who she was all along.” I like how the author puts this, powerful stuff.

Can we walk in what God says we are and be validated by Him alone? Love how this author handles this topic.

This author has readers take a look at many different aspects of relationships. What makes them work and which ones to discard. Griffin struggles in this area himself. He has to face a few lies he’s come to believe. His friend Doug says to him, “Your relationship with God is not based on performance…God’s invested in you Griffin. He’s sticking with you for the long haul…God redeems broken people and loves them in their brokenness.” I’ll amen that!

Dr. Kendall Hayne has an unexpected Christian Dr. Friend pop into her life. Could he be the one she’s waited for? Would she settle for what she could get b

ecause she’s thirty- something or will she wait for God’s best? Time will tell.

This story deals with real life struggles that people don’t talk about much. This author doesn’t have everything tied up in a cute bow at the end of the story either. I liked that. Life happens fast sometimes, it doesn’t catch God off guard but it does us.  I liked this story every much. It had characters I could relate to. I also liked the authors writing style and the interview in the back of the book. This is great stuff. Catch a Falling Star is one to put on your summer reading list and book club pick list too! There is so much to talk about, I only scratched the surface! I’m looking forward to this author’s next book. Beth K. Vogt is an author to watch!

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent

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