About the Book
Are we the sum of our circumstances or is there … more?
In a debut novel readers are calling “true to life,” “captivating,” and “cleverly written,” author Beth Troy takes on the story of Lu Sokolowski and her life upended. Lu’s plans have turned sideways, taking her back to the family and town she always planned to leave.
Lu is a modern woman’s honest journey to faith, that unapologetically addresses:
•The big questions women ask about their beliefs.
•The struggles women face in creating a fulfilling life.
•The complexity of family relationships.
•The tension between hope and reality.
Lu is a story for readers looking for real growth in relatable characters who aren’t afraid to ask real questions. It’s for women who want to experience the full spectrum of who they are and what they believe. It’s for women who want a story about how faith integrates into the whole life of a woman. You will want to share this story with a friend – after you read it again yourself.
Excerpt
The thick heat of morning promised a hot July day that would continue the good work the humidity and wind began on my hair. I didn’t need to look in the mirror to know it was a balloon. To know my eyes were red. I looked to the horizon instead. There’s great hope where the road meets the sky—maybe even an answer. But this road led to home. Just home. I thought I’d finished writing that story years ago, but then yesterday’s story happened—the one about the boy who cheats and the girl who leaves. You could dress it up and call it a journey. But there was nothing new in the story about the girl who went home because she had nowhere else to go.
Review
This story… wow. What an honest and meaningful journey to faith. It was engaging and even entertaining in many ways, but right from the first line, it gave me so much to think about. I feel a little as though I need to read it again right now so that I can chew over some of the things this story deals with—especially the insights we get from Jackson’s sermons on Ecclesiastes. It’s not often I feel sermons work in a story context, but these ones sure did. I’ve even been prompted to meditate on the books of Ecclesiastes for myself in relation to something I’m working through in my own life. That reminder that there is a time to weep, that it’s okay to simply acknowledge grief for a season—that was exactly the reminder I needed and at exactly the time I needed it.
In fact, there are a lot of ways in which this book encourages us to live in that tension between the way things should be and the way they are. If you’re wanting the author to moralise one way or the other over a divorced pastor or a woman who was living with her boyfriend for the last six years, you’ll be disappointed. She presents these characters simply as they are along with their struggles and the lessons they’ve learned (or are still learning) as a result. But if you’re open to a story where the characters explore what it is that gives life meaning (hint: the answer is Jesus) even if they take some missteps along the way, then you will be richly rewarded for picking up this book.
And I have to finish by saying I thoroughly enjoyed this author’s writing style. The dialogue!!! Stories with great dialogue are one of my happy places. I loved the back and forth banter between the characters—so natural, so engaging, and conveying so much about these characters without actually coming out and saying it—and the first person narrative was spot on. My one disappointment was that I felt the editing let the story down a little, the most distracting thing being the occasional tendency to switch to present tense in the narrative despite this being written in past tense point of view.
But this was a thoroughly engaging read, and I am super keen to read a sequel. Please tell me there’s one coming!
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.
Sounds like an amazing book. Excellent review! 🙂