About the Book
What happens after salvation – when you’ve changed, but others don’t see it? Author Beth Troy addresses this question from the first page, which finds Lu Sokolowski – the engaging and relatable heroine from Troy’s redemptive debut novel, Lu – back in her hometown with her expectations of a new life, dashed.
Lu has returned to Dunlap’s Creek with a hope to stay, but she struggles to right the wrongs she’d left behind, build a career outside of writing, and move on from the man who has moved on from her.
Louisa is a modern faith story of life after salvation that openly explores:
- The disconnect between who we are and how others perceive us
- The struggle in speaking up for our beliefs
- The question of when to let go and when to fight
- The journey in claiming a new identity
In turns captivating and pointed, Louisa is a novel of a woman coming into the fullness of life God has for her. It’s for women who have experienced this for themselves and for women who doubt whether such a life exists. It’s for women who understand that a life of faith isn’t without struggle or mistakes. Louisa is about restoration – in its grit and glory.
Excerpt
At least the trees were cooperating with my plan.
I’d plotted the scene in my mind—the stillness of the cemetery, the reverence of my approach, the flowers in my hand. Even after eight hours of thinking time on yesterday’s drive home, I hadn’t been able to script what I’d say when I got here. I figured I’d find the words when I needed them.
I retrospect, I should have nixed the flowers. The grocery’s flower department opens at 9:00am on Sundays. Church starts at 9:30, which is why I planned to buy the daisies yesterday, but yesterday hadn’t worked, either.
I blamed this on my family, who hadn’t rehearsed their parts in my surprise return. It started with them being home when I arrived yesterday afternoon, but when I reached for the doorknob, no one turned it from the inside.
“Hello?” I called, poking my neck from the vestibule. I looked left. I looked right. Nothing.
I wandered the hallway, greeting the empty family room, dining room, and kitchen. I looked through the screen door to the deck and backyard. When I didn’t see anyone, I climbed to the second floor, and then to my attic bedroom in case they were hiding under the bed.
I started unpacking, ready and wanting to be interrupted any minute, but my parents didn’t come home until dinner. They had my three little nieces in tow, which didn’t leave room for more than a surprised look and then a grateful one. It wasn’t until after we’d divvied the hot dogs, potato chips, and apple slices that my parents got around to asking why I was home, but then my nieces’ parents had arrived from next door—my best friend, Gracie, and my brother, Ted.
“Back again, Lu-ser?” Ted asked and laughed, despite Gracie’s warning look.
His question brought all eyes to me, giving me the attention I’d wanted three hours ago. I opened my mouth to answer, but the diversity of my audience stumped me. How I’d tell the story to my parents was different than what I’d share with Gracie. As for my nieces, I’d planned on reappearing in their lives with snow globes of the Empire State Building.
I closed my mouth, leaving them to fill in the blanks.
Review
Why had I thought my new belief would go in front of me like a public service announcement, excusing me from having to explain anything?
This is one of those stories I’ve been both dreading and greatly anticipating, and it’s all because of where the previous book in the series left off. I’m going to try to avoid spoilers for the sake of those who haven’t read Lu. yet, so let’s just say that Lu’s path to salvation was a little convoluted and has left at least one bridge burned behind her—perhaps beyond repair. Hence both my anticipation and my dread! But this is exactly the kind of tension I love in my fiction, and it’s just one of the things that has made this particular duology so engaging. Beth Troy doesn’t shy away from the everyday messiness of Christians and non-Christians alike navigating this adventure we call life.
As a life-long Christian myself, I was surprised how easily I related to Lu’s journey, both in the previous novel and this one, and that says volumes about the way in which Beth Troy draws readers not just into her characters’ world but into the very essence of who they are as people. Dialogue can be a make-it-or-break-it element of a novel for me, and it’s an absolute winner here with down-to-earth characters interacting in lively and engaging ways all the way from Lu’s affectionately annoying brother Ted to her fastidious and opinionated Nana.
And oh, how I love Jackson—for so many reasons, but first and foremost because he’s so real. Having said that, I wasn’t convinced we needed his point of view in the novel to begin with, but I’m really glad to have been proven wrong. His struggle was important to see and showed a different side of the same question Louisa wrestles with: when is God asking us to let go, and when are we supposed to hold on and fight? And as with the first novel in the series, I was challenged to think about how easy it is to judge people by their pasts without truly seeing where they are now and who they’re trying to become. In fact, how often—consciously or subconsciously—we make our own decisions based on our past mistakes rather than who we are becoming in Christ.
I really hope we’ll be getting more from this author in the future, especially with hints that Roddy and Virginia have a story of their own to tell!
I received a copy of this novel from the author. This has not influenced the content of my review, which is my honest and unbiased opinion.
About the Author
Beth Troy is a writer and educator who teaches courses in Creativity & Innovation and Women & Entrepreneurship at Miami University. Her first novel, Lu, is a modern woman’s journey back to her family, her faith, and herself. Beth will be publishing the sequel in Summer 2020.
Beth lives in Ohio with her husband and three sons. Go to her site or follow her on Instagram to read more about her life and writing.
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