Amy Inspired

This book had me at the Prelude! I loved this book, I loved the characters, I loved the writing style and I loved the setting. I think one of the reasons I could relate to this book was it reminded me of Ithaca. It took place in a college town, there were coffee shops and downtown apartments and hippies. It kinda felt like home to me. The Author, Pierce, did an excellent job of developing the characters. I absolutely felt like I knew everyone in the book. I kept half expecting to see Eli laying on my couch and Amy typing away on my computer and Zoe walking around my house in her funky style. This book was not an "on the edge of your seat" type book. It was familiar and comfortable, it was real life! At least it felt like it was. I was show more giggling on half the pages and crying by the end of the book. What I loved the most was the ending. You are thinking the ending will be predictable but is actually full of some nice little surprises! I would absolutely read more by Bethany Pierce, this is the style of writing I love!

Thank you "Librarything early reviewers" for sending me this ARC to review! show less

I’ll be honest: I started out hating this book. Of all the books on my pile to read (particularly those I needed to review) this was one I looked forward to the least. And once I started to read it, I had to keep forcing myself to read “just another page”. When I finally realized that it had been five hours and I hadn’t had to remind myself that I was reading this for review, I also realized that my opinion of the book- of the characters, the plot, the entire content- had undergone a subtle one-eighty. And yes, I know that’s something of an oxymoron.
But accurate. I’m unable to tell you at what point, exactly, my opinion shifted. I don’t know if it was when Lonnie started becoming Amy’s stalker, or when her mother’s show more wedding neuroses started to become more annoying than amusing. Or maybe it was at the Happy Publication Birthday Party when Amber was safeguarding Eli’s “honor” for Jillian. Maybe it wasn’t until Amy sprained her ankle (which, actually, I found hilarious, because I’ve been there.). I just know that this book made me laugh. It made me think, and it made me feel as though Bethany Pierce had come across some of my old journals and notebooks of lists at an estate sale, because this book was about me (no, not literally).
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and have since gotten it on Kindle, where I’ve added it to my “Favorites” collection. This book was surprisingly real; something I’ve come to realize is all too rare in faith-based fiction, where the miracles God does are ever so obvious. Amy’s story was one of everyday miracles- the ones we’re sometimes too busy to notice, but that are no less real for it. God is the same kind of author Amy strove to be- the one whose writing is there, whether it’s appreciated or not. Ms. Pierce has done a fabulous job of bringing miracles into real life. show less

At first, Amy Inspired seemed like a fun, tongue-in-cheek look at a young aspiring writer's life. Told in the first person, Amy is wonderfully witty and ironic in describing her creative writing students, her family and herself. But at the half way point, after the retelling of her friend Eli's life history, the story takes on a new tone. No longer is the view a superficial one, but an in depth look at what shapes us -- our childhood, our family, our experiences, hurts and disappointments.

Soon to be 30, Amy Gallagher is a writer, a teacher and a Christian seeking to be a published writer, an inspiring teacher and a good Christian. A rather conventional person, Amy surrounds herself with those on the edge or outside of the life she show more envisions. Zoe, the startlingly dressed roommate, Eli, the unconventional house guest, Lonnie, the lovestruck and science-fiction loving student all exasperate and intrigue Amy. Add the personalities of her family, and Amy is faced with discovering who she truly is.

I found Amy Inspired to be at times highly amusing, with some laugh out loud moments. I also found it touching and poignant. And like Amy, I found myself engaging in the shifting roles and feelings of the characters. Not typical chick-lit, Amy Inspired will inspire the reader to rethink who she truly is. show less

I received an ER copy of this through the LT Early Reviewer's program, and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. A novel about a struggling young female writer, who finds herself teaching classes to pay the bills and often does anything she can to avoid writing because she feels so inadequate when she eventually does put words on paper?

Er, I thought that might hit a little too close to home...

And a 'Christian' novel, to boot? Ah, but that's just it -- this is a novel under a Christian imprint, but perhaps the least Christian of all the Christian imprint novels I've ever read. This is a literary work written by a Christian author, so the worldview within the story contains Christian elements, but it's far from being a 'Christian' book, so show more please don't let the imprint put you off. I mean, as one of the characters is getting dressed, her roommate describes the shimmery green bra and underwear she's wearing (words like 'breasts', 'bra', etc., are left in). At another point there's a discussion of a male statue and its testicles. You may think 'why is this important? it's just a few words', but if you're familiar with CBA publishing guidelines/standards, you'll know that this is a HUGE departure from convention. I applaud Bethany House for taking risks and trying to stay relevant to the reading market.

So, that said, what about the story? I loved it. I honestly, truly did. The voice is raw, honest, and refreshing. It does have a slightly literary feel to it, but some of the insights about being a writer were spot on, and the despair the main character feels is presented so poignantly. No one here is perfect, everyone is broken in some way, just like in real life. The romance is messy, and there are consequences to everyone's choices.

There is just one scene that I felt dragged on a bit too long, and I wasn't fully satisfied with the way the romance resolved (or didn't, to be honest). Still, this was an excellent book, and I really, really hope that nothing was changed from the ER copy to the final version. show less

Thanks to Bethany House and LibraryThing Early Reviewers for the opportunity to review this book!

Amy Inspired is a character development story. No events or movements constitute a strong plot, rather the story moves through conversational scenes and sequels that are maybe a little too much alike texturally. Starting with a girl who's relational and professional life is drifting (and not so much in crisis) the story does take some time to engage with and the characters time to feel for. Near the end of the second section of the book, I did feel engaged and even began to enjoy the story.

It's worth noting that this book is presented as Christian fiction. At first, besides the characters having some religious identifiers, I wasn't really show more sure why. I began to expect that some major 'Christian' event lie ahead somewhere, and then felt like it was taking too long to happen. The first section of the book felt almost autobiographical, and frankly a bit flat. Perhaps the prologue contributes to this problem: it gives the picture of a person writing not so much because of love or passion or a point to make, but because nothing else worked out. The consequent autobiographical tone feels apathetic since the reader is now wondering: "well, if you wanted to do all these other things more than write this, why shouldn't I do something other than read it?".

It occurred to me, after discovering that the expectations I had of 'Christian fiction' were not on the authour's mind, that I may have stumbled on the subtle brilliance of the book. I was a bit relieved.

Stereotypical Christian fiction sometimes strives to create such heightened spiritual moments or consequences, and also to present characters who are such great models of the faith, or who face huge obstacles, that they offer versions of the Christian life that are just not reflective of the realities many of our people experience. I think I sometimes avoid Christian writing for that reason - contrived or artificial characters or situations inspire neither faith nor thought.

This book is different. The main character, Amy, a girl struggling with questions of career and relationships, is a Christian. She wants the way she lives and the things she does to reflect that, and key moments of decision making in the book are related, sometimes moderately, to her experience of God or sense of being a good Christian. While no spiritual giant or stereotype, she is nevertheless a reflection of something true.

In other words, this is the story of what's happening in the normal lives of good Christian young adults who know there's supposed to be more to their lives, and want it, but aren't entirely sure what it is or how to go about sorting the matter out. Amy wants to make good decisions in her personal life, but her faith is no easy answer for everything. While writing in an email that she's praying for a friend, she also humbly comments that she wishes she 'really prayed'. She witnesses with gentle appropriateness to a girl in grief over the loss of her sister, (leading to one of the strongest images in the book: she hopes her conversational encounter with the girl will mean she has been like one light along a runway guiding a plane in safely). While wonderfully moral, Amy is not a idealized character who will model perfectly what it's like to give up your life for Christ and follow him. Rather, beautifully human and honest about herself, Amy is like so many of our young adult Christian's who are trying otherwise to put the pieces of a normal North American life together with some semblance of God as they best understand Him.

We may comment that this is less than the Christian call - Amy might have a ways to go towards the notion of giving up her life and priorities so that she can participate in advancing God's Kingdom. Those ideas might even be lost on, or reduced by, her; she might be insulted by their insinuations. But that very fact makes her character more realistic as a picture of what is. This book perhaps offers more insight for pastor's trying to figure out what's going on when our parishioners can seem to carry the name of Christ so well on the one hand, and then suddenly seem mysteriously spiritually stalled on the other.

Pierce's contribution to Christian fiction, in this sense, is of real value. Not by way of an articulated ideal we're to pursue, but through a reflection of what we actually are. In the midst of a simple account of a girl facing the average issues of life, great self-reflective questions are at hand: Who are we to our neighbours? To what degree are we really motivated by God? Are we really morally pure, or do we do things that leave our friends thinking we're hypocrites? What do we really look for in a mate? Are we really after another believer, or are we equally driven in and out of relationships by lesser motivators? What do we do when we find out we're not the spiritual purists we thought we were? How do we handle the ups and downs of loves and griefs we wish we could change or or at least manage well?

It's a bit unfortunate that the book is slightly more interested in showing the character's evolution relationally and as a writer than it is in pressing the greater questions of her identity, and it perhaps lacks for that. Success in writing or relationally is no substitute for real character growth, and I think Amy Inspired could have gone further with greater impact if it delved more powerfully in that direction. And yet, those hints of something more do reflect something real - and that makes it a helpful and interesting book which, ultimately, I enjoyed.

If you're a young adult at the crossroads of career, love and future, longing to move ahead in the right direction in your life, Amy Inspired is a book you'll be able to relate to. Knowing you're not alone, and that God is in the mix, may well be enough to refresh your faith. show less

Amy Inspired is not your typical Christian fiction novel. So many of them slap you in the face with a sermon. This does not. I think that is what I really liked about the book. Amy, the main character is full of flaws. She proclaims she is a Christian, yet she makes the same realistic mistakes that many Christians make. That doesn’t make her less a Christian, just more realistic.

Amy is an aspiring writer. To live she accepts a teaching job at the university. Her writing passion shines as she teaches her students the finer points of writing. Unfortunately she is amassing a stack of rejection letters for her own writing. Feelings of happiness and jealousy rage as her friend and roommate Zoe gets an article published in a national show more magazine. Then Zoe lets a friend move in with them until he can find a job. Amy is attracted to Eli Moretti. He is everything that she has never wanted in a man. Eli is a tattooed, scruffy looking, an artist that lives life more freely than Amy has ever dared. It is exactly this type of man that helps put things in perspective for Amy. He causes her to question things.

There was so much I could identify to in this story. I like Amy make lists and have stacks of post it notes. My family teases me about my lists for my lists. I often feel I do a better job inspiring my students in their writing than I do in my own. I loved the way the author showed the human side of Amy. Things like jealousy, dealing with death, and family issues were handled in such a realistic way that anyone reading this could find something to relate to. This was the first book I had read by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will definitely recommend it to my friends both Christian and non-Christian. show less

The story began slowly for me. By page 43 I was not just bored; I thought it was all a bit, well, tedious. But then the story-line grew on me despite its perhaps triteness, and Pierce's writing seemed to open up.
--young woman wants to write; can't
--young woman finds satisfaction in helping others
--young woman searches for love in all the wrong places
--young woman finds out the secrets that make a family

Interestingly, Pierce makes a case for feminist thought within Christianity. She humanizes young Christian women. She looks square in the face of our human need to find meaning in the suffering that finds its way into each life. She brings to the fore the need for each of us to find the way to forgive each other and ourselves--truly, show more this is the Christian message so many of us either forget or never learn.

However, I strongly question the use of negativity towards Amy's mother's church. The disparaging remarks about the "First Fundamentalist Church" were NOT cute. Was this a play to reach "a new generation?" If this book is intended as Christian Young Adult fiction, then perhaps it needs to attend to its Christian message. Love and forgiveness--even forgiving one's parents for having a more fundamentalist religion--should have been the heart and soul of this book: certainly that was Jesus's.

I would have given it a three star rating had it not been for this very serious flaw. Denigration of others is never right. Especially not in religion's name. show less