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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
Being a first-time author, I wasn't sure what to expect from Sally Kilpatrick but after The Happy Hour Choir, I would definitely read more of her work. The main character, Beulah, is a well-rounded firecracker and I was instantly taken in by her story. The book does not necessarily offer up any unexpected twists but it is an engaging tale that I would definitely recommend to others.
In this case, I just did a reread with an eye to a possible sequel novella, a sort of Beulah Rides Again, if you will.
Yet another read: Just finished another read through because there will be a new edition of The Happy Hour Choir coming August 2024!
I found a couple of mishaps or plot holes that would take out of it briefly but I didn't let that affect my score as again, uncorrected proof.
What did impact my score is this:
Pros:
Most of the characters were extremely likable. The described feeling of abandonment and hurt by faith is truly believable. And we all know a Ms. Lottie in our lives and they infuriate us.
We all need a Ginger in our lives. A nonjudgemental sweet ol' lady who has a sense of humor and a heart of diamond (because gold is so pretty but so damageable).
Con (because there was only really one for me):
It's hard to keep supporting Buelah. She is a queen of wallowing in self-pity and while she has major character growth, it gets repetitive when she makes choices out of pure stubbornness.
I rarely read romance and even more rare than that is reading Christian fiction (Sally, you can thank Tessa for getting me to read it). It was definitely worth the read.
Beulah is a preacher's daughter, estranged from her family and running from God. She makes her living playing piano at the local dive bar, one with a reputation for tough customers who don't hold with religion.
Ginger took her in when she had nowhere else to go, so when Ginger's dying wish is for Beulah to take her place as the church pianist, Beulah can't really refuse. She also can't anticipate the repercussions from this request, or the impact on so many other people.
At times I was startled by the characters, even wondering if this really were a Christian novel, so different was it from the soft, fluffy fiction that often emerges in this genre. These characters are *real*. They're tempted, broken, misunderstood, hurting, and full of secrets. They live the lessons we internalize without even knowing it, the questions we have about why bad things happen to good people, the effects of hurt and pride, that none of us can pass judgement on anyone else, and most of all the effects of community and friends.
A great read, thought-provoking and moving.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Happy Hour Choir is a beautiful, inspiring tale of faith, forgiveness, second chances and hope. Each of the characters has their own dark and sad past, which doesn't stop them from striving to be better and stronger and doing their very best in each situation. The characters sometimes fail, but their struggle is what makes them so lively and great. Just like the best of us, they always try and try again.
Although what I've said above is not visible in each situation, it's not hard to see that it's still true, because each of the characters emerges from the deepest and darkest holes of despair.
I've always said how much I admire well-written characters and this is one such instance. They might not be always likeable, but the reader can certainly put oneself in their shoes. The character that I liked the most is, without a big surprise here, Ginger. She is the heart and soul of this book. Although Beulah is the main character, I don't see how this entire story would be possible if it lacked Ginger. I know that we all complain about the way the world is filled with bad people and that everyone is looking after their own behind, but I'd like to state that in most instances in which I've met people I'd label "good", they have been like Ginger, good to their very core. We always say that the world is not black and white, but it seems to me that the true form of good is completely white. The people who want to do good - they just overflow with it, they are able to pass this "epidemic" to others as well.
Beulah, on the other hand, may not be the character that has suffered the most, although she has suffered greatly, and yet she is the more conflicted one. She is fighting really hard not to give up, to own up to Ginger's expectations which are very high, but in no way unjust. I don't know how I would react in her situation, as it is a most complex one, especially when it comes to Tiffany, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm proud of a fictional character's actions. At the very end she was way to stubborn for her own good and although I felt the desire to slap her at a point, in her position I, not unfamiliar to extreme stubbornness, would probably act the same.
It was hard for me not to like Luke. Although in my opinion he is not even close to the driving center of the book, he is a great force in the shaping of Beulah and of the events of the book. Even harder to like was Tiffany who was just so innocent, despite being through so much. She really grew on me, especially in the way that she was so, so brave.
I don't know how different readers see this book, for some it may be a love story, for others it may be a tragic one. For me this was a very inspiring read. For me, this was the amazing story of three women, who are very much alike and yet so different. This was a story about overcoming grief, finding yourself and swimming out of the ocean of pain that each human being endures in their life.