Book Review: "Tying the Knot" by Susan May Warren

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Learning to trust

Anne is a former EMT who's now a candidate to be a nurse. She's relocated to Deep Haven, MN to escape the gang violence she experienced first hand in Minneapolis. Anne is hoping to settle down and start a new quiet life in the town. However she keeps running into Noah Standing Bear, who is trying to start up a summer camp for troubled teens from the city. The two have many disputes and arguments as they both try to struggle with their former lives from the past. Also someone is stealing drugs from the hospital and attacking nurses. Fear from those who can help enters the little town.

I enjoyed returning to Deep Haven again. I wish I could visit this quiet town to go away to relax. I definitely make a stop at the bookstore for a read and cup of coffee. The characters in the town are all friendly and for the most part everyone gets along. However, at first Anne's treatment of Noah gets really annoying. She blames him for everything wrong that happens to her and there's a lot of prejudice in her accusations. I understand that because of her attack she's very wary of people and not able to trust easily. However you feel for Noah that he can't do anything right in Anne's eyes. He doesn't even have to be near her and she gets into a rage about him. She's prejudiced towards him because of what her attacker had done to her. I did like the story overall. Gang violence is a topic that is a big issue in major cities. It's sad that many teens and even children are affected by gangs. Many families are torn apart because of killings and it's almost normal to hear that a friend has been shot or hurt by a gang member. It's a good eye opener that we should help people in those situations instead of ignoring them. I also liked the use of a minority character, sadly it's still rare in Christian fiction to find a main character that is not Caucasian. This book was an interesting look into what happens when you have to fully trust God even when you're scared to.

Tying the Knot by Susan May Warren is published by Tyndale (2003)