Slow Moon Rising: Christian fiction book review

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    Good fiction stories about families often center on just one or two of the members of that family.  I found a very good book that treats each member of this diverse family equally, and skillfully brings the reader into that family as if they were also a family member.  In Eva Marie Everson's new book, Slow Moon Rising, she has done an excellent job of telling each family member’s story, and making each one important.

    The book starts with Ross, a doctor who has recently lost his wife to cancer.  He meets Anise, who is in her late 30’s and has never married.  They fall in love; after a whirlwind courtship, they marry, and Anise then gets to meet the rest of the family:   four daughters, each with their own secrets and life challenges. 

    Ari, the youngest, is still in school and wants to be a dancer.  She accepts Anise, but when she inadvertently learns a devastating family secret, she leaves her home to follow her career.

    Heather is the “difficult to get along with” sister.  She manages to put her foot in her mouth and hurts other’s feelings regularly. 

    Jamie-Leigh is a doctor and shares an office with her father. 

    Kimberly is the family caretaker, and feels responsible for the others in her family.  The secrets that each daughter is keeping will either bring them together or forever tear them apart.

    The family owns a special get away home on Cedar Key.  This is the place where the family members truly become a family again in spite of the secrets each one is keeping; this is the place that brings healing to each family member. 

    This is a book you will want to return to again to learn for yourself the lessons that it teaches.  You will enjoy reading this very modern novel, Slow Moon Rising, by Eva Marie Everson.           

Book Club Discussion Guide:

1. Slow Moon Rising is a story of family dynamics and secrets. Beginning with Anise (the newcomer), what do you think drew her to Ross Claybourne?

2. Do you think Heather was justified in the way she felt about Anise? In the way she treated her?

3. In spite of difficult beginnings, Anise kept the Spirit of Christ in her. How difficult is this to do in the face of such opposition? Have you ever experienced such a time?

4. The oldest Claybourne daughter, Kimberly, is willing to give her husband a second chance after his affair. He is not interested, however. Life, on the other hand, gives Kim a second chance through Steven (their story is told in Chasing Sunsets, Revell 2011). How do you feel about divorce and remarriage within the church? Do you think Kimberly and Steven were “clear" to date? When has life given you such a second chance?

5. Why do you think Jayme-Leigh wanted to keep her family in the dark about her medical condition? Was Ross right to keep the secret from the rest of the family?

6. Heather has control issues. When she loses it, she goes on a spending binge that she eventually has to deal with. In many ways, this was the best thing that could have happened to her. Why?

7. Taking into consideration Ami's age, had you been Ami and had witnessed the confession of Joan and overheard the conversation between Ross and Eliana, could you have confronted Ross?

8. Ami's story is a good example of what happens when we refuse to confront and choose to ignore. How might her life have been different if she'd chosen otherwise?

9. Had Ross not become ill, do you think the truth about his relationship to Rosa would have been revealed?

10. How do you feel about Anise's decision to call her father at the end of the book?

    Slow Moon Rising is available as of June 2013 at your favorite bookseller - from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

I received a copy of this book for review, but was not compensated financially in any way. The opinions expressed are my own and are based solely on my experiences while reading this book.

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