Wednesday, December 19, 2007

My Hands Came Away Red

I just finished this great book called “My Hands Came Away Red.” If you are in the market for a great novel, I would suggest this one. In fact, I even found the author’s website and sent her an email telling her how much I enjoyed her book and how she has inspired me to write more.

I guess it wasn’t just that the book was sooo soak-in-a-hot-bubble-bath-and-read-for-two-hours great (although it was) but that the author was really speaking from a perspective that was so similar to my own. The book is about a group of teens who go on a short term missions trip to Indonesia and end up in the middle of a war between Muslim and Christian villages. They are cut off from everyone, and trekking through the jungle for weeks trying to get home. It’s heart wrenching, mostly because it’s based on some very real facts.

I loved the fact that the narrative voice was a 17 year old girl, but I didn’t walk away feeling like she was a 17 year old. She felt much older. I loved that after I read the book it made me want to write! It made me want to write books about adventures in missions. It gave me an idea of HOW to write this kind of book….to inspire, without coming off preachy. Can it be done…twice? One never knows…one never knows.

So, if you were going to write a book about something…what would you write about?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

So was it a true story or not a true story? it sounds like a book I would really like to read!! Many of us who read your blog could relate to this experience on some level (being in another country while strife is going on there). It sounds good!!

Emily Jade said...

I love it when you come away from a book inspired! Write your book, Danielle. This is an attainable goal! Believe in yourself always, add your experience and wit and you will put magic on paper. Trust in yourself and your mind :O)

Brandon said...

Sounds awesome. I'm going to add it to me Amazon Wish List.

I believe that the strife between Christians and Muslims in that area is THE geographic front line of spiritual warfare (if there is one). I can't remember why I think this, but I think I wrote something about it after reading an article a year or so ago.