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Loading... These Fragile Thingsby Jane Davis
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 Masterly writing on a subject most of us don't give a second thought to. Very well written with utterly believable characters. What would you do if your child was named the “Miracle Girl” and she claimed to have ethereal visions? For the Jones family this scenario is about to be played out in their lives. Judy Jones was a typical fourteen-year-old teenager growing up in Streatham, England in the 1980’s, when a brick wall fell down on her, trapping her in a phone booth. Against all odds she survives. Distraught over the realization that his daughter may never be the same again, her father turns to the church to save his little girl while her mother focuses on the pragmatic details of nursing her broken daughter back to health. Before the Jones family has time to heal from the trauma of the accident Judy and her father leap into the open arms of the Catholic Church while, her mother battles with the reality that her role in the house has changed. Just as everyone in the family is settling down, Judy starts to have visions. A woman in white has a message for her, and Judy is determined to find out what that message is. When the news that a saint is living among the people of Streatham is leaked, crowds of believers set up camp in front of the Jones’s house, again throwing their routine into chaos. These Fragile Things is a beautiful and thoughtfully written story about a family that is struggling with the harsh reality that life is fleeting. Author Jane Davis paints the picture of a typical suburban family whose lives are turned upside down not once, but multiple times. With each curve ball that Davis throws at the Joneses you can’t help but ache for this family that is desperate to keep some senses of normalcy. Davis is a phenomenal writer whose ability to create well rounded characters that are easy to relate to felt effortless. Every person in the story could have easily been your next door neighbor or your best friend from school. The attention to these details instantly sucks readers into this world. In addition to the strong characters, Davis incorporates strong themes around religion, family, and loyalty that take this book to a whole new level of literary perfection. I would strongly recommend this book to all book clubs. I think you will find that the discussion following the reading will be intriguing. I also would encourage anyone who struggles with the concept of religion or those who believe in miracles to read this book. I am confident that you will walk away with new questions and insight into the Church that you may not have had. Either way, the concepts, ideas and prose found in These Fragile Things will stick with you for a long time. (This book was provided to Compulsion Reads for review by the author.)
Parents: Ask yourselves how would you react if your 14-year-old daughter claimed to be seeing visions? Teenagers: would you risk ridicule and scorn ?? knowing this will affect others ?? to voice a seemingly impossible claim? As Streatham, South London still reels from the riots in neighbouring Brixton, Graham Jones, an ordinary father, grows fearful for his teenage daughter Judy who faces a world where the pace of change appears to be accelerating. But even he cannot predict what will happen next. A series of events is about to be unleashed over which he will have no control, and the lives of his family will be turned upside-down. Judy Jones knows what it means to survive. Having already defied medical predictions, not only surviving after she was buried when a wall collapsed, but learning to walk again. She understands that she is changed. She has even learned to love her scars. But when Judy claims to be seeing visions, her father will call it a miracle, and the headline-hungry press will label her the Miracle Girl. Horrified that her only child is becoming public property, Elaine??s claim on her daughter seems to be diminishing. Present when she came close to losing Judy a first time ?? knowing it was the paramedics and surgeons who saved her ?? she demands a medical explanation. But Judy, refusing to become caught up in her parents?? emotional tug-of-war, is adamant. She must tread her own path, wherever it takes her. Delusion, deception, diabolism ?? or is it just possible that Judy??s apparitions are authentic? Gather close all that you hold dear. Life can change in a split second. This intense and emotionally-charged portrait of a family deep in crisis will have you reflecting on everything you believe to be true. "Davis is a phenomenal writer whose ability to create well-rounded characters that are easy to relate to felt effortless No library descriptions found. |
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