3 out of 4 stars
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A lot of people were raised in religious homes but as time goes by, they keep falling by the wayside. The reason for this change is what Dr. Wanda D. Tolbert seeks to uncover in the novel, Harvest of the Remnant. The main protagonist is a young, Christian girl in her senior year of highschool. The story focuses on her social life, her family, her beliefs and the opinions she forms along the way.
The story begins with the lead character, who isn't mentioned by name, introducing the reader to the world around her. She has four best friends, goes to a local church and is planning to go on a missionary trip to Honduras. The story then follows her as she leaves high school and goes off to college. It is inspiring to note that her faith doesn't dim, although she is far away from the strict supervision of her parents. The college chapter of her life brings with it multiple twists and turns that really spiced up the book.
This being the second book in The Harvester series, I hadn't read it's prequel, The Harvest is Past, the Summer is Ended, and We are Not Saved! I imagined that would be a setback but it wasn't. I can confidently attest that this book can be consumed as a stand alone. Narrated in the first person point of view, it is a fast-paced story, written in simple language. This makes it a quick read and it's a bonus because it does a good job of tackling pertinent issues in society. I must mention that this was classified as a children's book but after reading it, I can clearly see that it doesn't belong there but is more suited to the other fiction category.
The author skilfully handles the themes of policy, hypocrisy and double standards in the church. Anyone who's been a member of any church or religious organization will find familiarity in the author's sentiments. As a young college student, the girl is quite vocal about how the church leadership makes the rules but will readily twist them to accommodate their needs. She also compares different churches and the level of rigidity it imposes upon it's members. Personally, I know of some religious organizations that I wouldn't join even if I was paid to. The author also emphasizes the importance of education and puts across the point that people in church leadership positions should be highly qualified in those respective fields. This should be so in order to provide quality services to the congregation.
The only downside is that I ran into a few typos and grammatical issues, which include awkwardly worded phrases, misplaced commas, a misplaced apostrophe and on page 12, there's a misplaced ellipsis. All these could be reconciled with a round of editing. I was also disappointed that the characters introduced at the beginning of the book remained rooted there and nothing is mentioned about them throughout the rest of the story. This omission had me confused at first but I think that the author wanted to focus on the girl's life. If that was the intention, it was achieved.
I'll therefore give this book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars and I recommend it to anyone who desires a thought provoking read.
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Harvest Of The Remnant
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