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A review by jnikolova
The Happy Hour Choir by Sally Kilpatrick
4.0
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.