Monday, June 10, 2013

Book Review: Afloat by Erin Healy

Erin Healy's "Afloat" is easily one of the best Christian fiction works I've read in a long time.  Reminiscent of Shaunti Feldhahn's fiction works, this novel does a tremendous job of taking a believable, "real life" story and mixing in supernatural elements throughout the plot.  The plot, in and of itself, is compelling- a cutting-edge housing development, located on the water, begins to literally fall apart as rain and flooding overtake the entire area.  A group of people, from contractors to investors to residents, finds themselves stranded on the island.  As you learn the stories of this motley crew, you are sucked into their world, plopped in the middle of their disaster, and eventually find yourself taking sides as they argue whether or not to leave the safety of the development.  But there is an underlying plot element that continues to rear its head throughout the story: first a child, then various adult characters come into contact with supernatural beings, who issue warnings and promises alike to guide the people through the disaster they face.  

I will say that this book took me a bit to completely get into.  At the beginning, I had a lot of "HUH?!" moments, but it didn't take long for the elements to come together in my mind, and quickly become a page-turner that kept me up way past my bedtime.  Healy has done such a great job with this novel that I was able to forgive the slow start.  By the end of the book, I was holding my breath and rooting for the characters.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested, and I am so grateful to Thomas Nelson Publishing for the opportunity to read it in exchange for an honest review.