The First Gift by Ruth Logan Herne + Giveaway
"When things got bad or she got hurt, Cassie would catch her bottom lip between her teeth and squeeze hard enough to feel the pain. Doing that kept her from crying. Quiet was her best choice. She'd figured that out a long time ago." (102)
Title: The First Gift
Author: Ruth Logan Herne
Genre: Inspirational Contemporary Fiction
Bringing to mind classics like Catherine Marshall’s Christy, society’s standards are put to the test and a Northern Appalachian town comes together to save a neglected child in Ruth Logan Herne’s new romance, The First Gift.
This poignant novel tells the story of five-year-old Cassie Carruthers, who lives in a bug-infested shack in the hills of Western New York’s Southern Tier. Her mother has died and Cassie spends her days fending for herself while her alcoholic father drinks himself into a stupor. But Cassie’s isolation has not gone unnoticed in the tight-knit community of Phillipsburg. When a concerned neighbor alerts the county, the community sets a plan in motion to rescue the neglected little girl. Through fundraising efforts, Cassie is tucked into the kindergarten classroom of independent, beautiful Kerry McHenry. Kerry has her work cut out for her in dealing with Cassie’s depressed father, but despite the child’s loveless start in life, she soon reveals herself to be an intelligent, eager student. Moreover, she possesses a resourcefulness that has saved her life more than once—and will be called upon again. Kerry McHenry is nobody’s fool. She sees her own tough upbringing in Cassie’s dire situation, so she works tirelessly to guide the young girl, trying to help her become everything that God wants her to be. At the same time, she finds herself torn between a commitment-phobic pediatric oncologist from a nearby town and Phillipsburg’s widowed deputy sheriff, a complicated man who is still angry with God. As the stakes grow ever higher and the characters’ lives intersect in unexpected ways, each will face a true test of faith—and come face to face with indisputable evidence of God’s love.
This poignant novel tells the story of five-year-old Cassie Carruthers, who lives in a bug-infested shack in the hills of Western New York’s Southern Tier. Her mother has died and Cassie spends her days fending for herself while her alcoholic father drinks himself into a stupor. But Cassie’s isolation has not gone unnoticed in the tight-knit community of Phillipsburg. When a concerned neighbor alerts the county, the community sets a plan in motion to rescue the neglected little girl. Through fundraising efforts, Cassie is tucked into the kindergarten classroom of independent, beautiful Kerry McHenry. Kerry has her work cut out for her in dealing with Cassie’s depressed father, but despite the child’s loveless start in life, she soon reveals herself to be an intelligent, eager student. Moreover, she possesses a resourcefulness that has saved her life more than once—and will be called upon again. Kerry McHenry is nobody’s fool. She sees her own tough upbringing in Cassie’s dire situation, so she works tirelessly to guide the young girl, trying to help her become everything that God wants her to be. At the same time, she finds herself torn between a commitment-phobic pediatric oncologist from a nearby town and Phillipsburg’s widowed deputy sheriff, a complicated man who is still angry with God. As the stakes grow ever higher and the characters’ lives intersect in unexpected ways, each will face a true test of faith—and come face to face with indisputable evidence of God’s love.
Cassie is five. She's a smart little five-year-old, but what she goes through knocks hard into your heart. It makes you want to grab her and hug her and just make things right for her. The First Gift by Ruth Logan Herne tells of a story in a poor and rural area, where life for adults, let alone little ones can be quite difficult. As the caring community comes together to rally for this one little girl, we readers see the light a single gift of love can give to a girl, and to themselves.I was rendered speechless as I close the last page of The First Gift. It tugged so hard the many heartstrings my role as a reader, a Christian, a wife, and a female, not to mention the natural motherly instincts, I couldn't help but be drawn to it. The author has done a marvelous job showing the contradiction between society's rules and the very basic human decency. With faith, we come together to let God be our guide. Many times through the story, I couldn't help it but yell out or hold back tears. Despite the deep emotional pull of The First Gift, we also have a little romance (more like a triangle) and some fun characters that showed us a little of the author's humor. (The quote below about us women totally cracked me up!) Kerry's focus lies with Cassie most of the time, yet her relationships with Ryan and Jack brings out a realistic element of romance that isn't just about kisses, going out to eat, or just the two people involved. I appreciated this aspect of the storyline, adding in the familial facet to it.
In all, the poignancy of The First Gift, along with the message of love in God's timing, makes for a touching story. I had a hard time leaving The First Gift. I don't think my review gives it enough praise as it deserves. Filled with multiple message and themes, it needs to be discussed and shared. It will make a great book for book clubs and shared amongst friends. I hope you'll enjoy this one as much as I do.
"Pray for it...Pray for the insight, the ability to believe. Pray for his guidance, his eternal love. Faith will come when you turn yourself over to Christ fully. But I can't promise there won't be doubts...Life isn't easy. Doubts come. They're part of the package." (161)
For one of my readers, I'm gifting you a copy of The First Gift through the giveaway below. I truly hope you'll be able to read this and share it with someone else or with your local library, church library or book club. Happy reading!
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review, and have not been compensated for this. This is my honest opinion.
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Ruth Logan Herne has more than a million books in print, including eighteen Love Inspired contemporary novels and Back in the Saddle, Book 1 in the Double S Ranch series. Ruth is a founding member of Seekerville, a popular writing collective blog. A country girl who loves the big city, Ruth and her husband live on a farm in upstate New York.
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