CFBA - Wounded: A Love Story

I am thrilled to announce that I am now part of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and will be posting a book review about 3 times a month.  I hope you will find the reviews interesting and helpful!   :)

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Wounded: A Love Story

David C. Cook (September 2008)

by

Claudia Mair Burney

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Claudia is the author of the popular Ragamuffin Diva blog and the David C. Cook novel Zora and Nicky: A novel in Black And White. She is also the author of Death, Deceit, and Some Smooth Jazz, and the Amanda Bell Brown Mysteries and the Exorsistah series for teens. Her work has appeared in Discipleship Journal magazine, The One Year Life Verse Devotional Bible, and Justice in the Burbs.

She lives in Michigan with her husband, five of their seven children, and a quirky dwarf rabbit.


ABOUT THE BOOK

SHE HAD A VISION OF CHRIST PLACING TWO PERFECT RED ROSES IN HER HANDS...AND THEN SHE WAS WOUNDED!

If a miracle happened to you, wouldn't you tell everyone? What if they thought you were crazy?

Gina Merritt, poor in health and rich in faith is the last person to expect a miracle to happen to her. As she sits in a pew on Ash Wednesday with throbbing pain in her knees and a raging migraine, she turns her concentration elsewhere and silently prays, "Share with me, Jesus."

Instantly she has a holy vision of the Son of God kneeling before her. As tears fill her eyes, Christ kisses Gina's hands, leaving two perfect red roses. When the vision fades, Gina's hands are bleeding.

Anthony Priest, the junkie sitting beside her, instinctively touches Gina when she cries out, but she flees in shock and pain. A prizewinning journalist before drugs destroyed his career, Anthony is stunned that he is suddenly overcome with a sense of well-being and he instantly knows that he is cured of his addiction. Wanting an explanation, Anthony follows Gina home.

Is it a miracle, or just a religious delusion? It seems like everyone who knows of the mysterious stigmata has an opinion, and it's not always favorable. Putting aside their difference and their mutual distrust, Gina and Anthony embark on a search for answers. Along the way they encounter an uncertain evangelical pastor, a gentle Catholic priest, a certifiable religious zealot, and a transvestite drug dealer, all of whom lend their voices to the tale. It's a quest for truth, sanity, and grace…and an unexpected love story.

If you would like to read an excerpt from Wounded: A Love Story, go HERE

MY REVIEW

"Who doesn't really want a miracle, somewhere deep inside themselves?"  This quote sums up the feelings at the heart of this book.  Written in first person from the point of view of four different people, Ms. Burney weaves a story about a stigmatic and a heroin addict and their quest for the truth.

Gina, the main character, is a single black mother who suffers from a variety of health problems including migraines, bipolar and fibromyalgia.  She spends much time trying to convince herself and others that she is not crazy and her priest, the addict and his mother are all an integral part of the discovery process.

The ensuing love story and journey has some very uncomfortable scenes and verbage.  I'm not sure I would be able to recommend this book to most people I know and yet the other part of me is a bit challenged by what I've read.  Stigmata has always had a bit of mystery surrounding it and this book has only added to that.