Bringing Maggie Home: A Novel

It’s been awhile since I have read a book with this much emotion that had me crying so much. It is so beautifully written you can’t help but devour each word. It’s funny that I could relate to each character at some point. I saw myself in Hazel as a small child. She was so despondent over something that happened she couldn’t forgive herself. It hurt to read that her parents blamed her and to carry that guilt over the years broke my heart. I thought she was a warm and loving person. The author writes her character with a strong faith in God. I loved how she wanted thing wanted to mend her relationship with her daughter and solve a mystery thst has kept her a prisoner for so long in her mind.

Diane and her mother have not had a show more great relationship. She blames her mom for being overprotective and not allowing her to ever do anything. Diane was very stubborn and I had to laugh when she shows up at her mom’s house at the same time as her daughter Meghan. There is a strain you can feel between Hazel and Diane. I loved how Hazel stood her ground and tried many times to get through to her daughter. I saw a pattern forming as they each shared their childhood and how they felt smothered by their mother. My children will tell you I am a very overprotective mother. I wanted to keep them safe and was so afraid to let them out of my sight. Diane experienced that as she grew up and has made her bitter towards her mom.

Meghan decides to visit her grandmother when she needs to recuperate from a car accident. I loved how the author showed a soft side to Meghan and how much she wanted her mom and grandmother to mend their relationship. The bond between grandmother and granddaughter was so moving and I could feel the closeness they shared. I loved the mystery the author wrote into the story and when it is revealed it will explain a lot about why Hazel has carried guilt for seventy years. The story has so many good things in it I didn’t want to put the book down. I cried so many tears because for me it brought back memories that are painful for me while growing up. I connected so well to the storyline about mother and daughter relationships.

The book is rich in history and takes readers on a journey of forgiveness, mending relationships, finding faith and experiencing unconditional love. I have to say this has been one of my favorite books of 2017. With such gripping emotions and connecting with characters, the story was written with such passion I could feel the author laboring over each word. Don’t miss the story of three generations and a mystery that will have you crying and cheering at the same time.

I received a copy of this book from LitFuse. The review is my own opinion. show less

So, I will confess: it's been awhile since I read a Kim Vogel Sawyer book. Like eons ago. But,when I saw this book available and read the blurb, I knew it was one I could not pass up! I definitely made the right choice for sure, as it was like coming home from a long stay in a foreign country. Her writing style was breathtakingly stunning in this emotionally moving, sometimes suspenseful book.

I loved the women in this book. They each stole a piece of my heart and became like family to me. I loved that feeling. I loved the way Ms. Sawyer created this story with 3 generations of stong willed, stubborn women. The mystery she added to the mix and the cold case of Maggie's story was incredibly done. It was the perfect blend of emotions for show more me!

If you are looking for a fast-paced, laugh out loud novel, don't pick up this book. If you want a book that will grip your soul, twist it, taking it on the most incredible roller coaster ride (the only way I will ever get on a roller coaster!), then this book, filled with messages of longing, hope, desperation and learning to lean on God to show the way, will be the perfect one for you! Ms. Sawyer's latest book is definitely a top read of 2017 for me and gets the highest of 5 stars!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Blogging For Books and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.* show less

If you are going to write and publish fiction that is also a religious tract, it would be polite to mention that in the advertising blurbs. While the preaching is mild in the first half of the book, it grows and takes over towards the end.

What a powerful page turning read, one that started so innocently with a berry picking trip, a trip that dictates the rest of their lives.
The Author has us walking in three different women’s shoes, Grandmother, Mother, and Daughter, and how one act affects each one through decades, and actually forms the person they are now.
Loved how faith played a part in this story, and could picture how the relationships of these relatives have evolved. The story itself is heartbreaking, and makes you think, yes it could have happened.
Can you imagine the guilt that the young ten-year-old Hazel Mae felt, and then her parents, that allowed the ten year old to have the responsibility of watching a three year old? Heart breaking as to what happens to show more this family, and shows that the things we say and do to the child form the adult they become.
You really don’t want to miss this one; it will keep you awake long into the night, and wonder how lives can be put back together.
I received this book through Litfuse Publicity Book Tours, and was not required to give a positive review. show less

3.5 stars

Bringing Maggie Home by Kim Vogel Sawyer is a bittersweet novel of healing for three generations of mothers and daughters.

In rural Arkansas in 1943, Hazel DeFord's younger sister Maggie vanishes while the two girls are picking blackberries. This one event defines Hazel's life to the extent that her only daughter, Diane, seethes with resentment over her mother's over protectiveness. In turn, Diane's relationship with her daughter, Meghan, is also affected as Diane's attempts not to be anything like Hazel take her to the other end of the parenting spectrum. When these three women end up under the same roof while Meghan recovers from a car accident, can the fractures in these relationships be repaired?

Despite Diane's somewhat show more aloof mothering, Meghan is a warm, caring and quite well adjusted young woman. She absolutely adores her grandmother and her fondest childhood memories revolve around her summer visits with Hazel. In recent years, she has not spent as much time with Hazel as she would like, so Meghan is eagerly looking forward to convalescing from her accident with her grandmother. Needless to say, the last person she expects to see upon her arrival at Hazel's house is Diane. Which begs the question: why is Diane here?

Well, the answer to that question definitely paints Diane in a very unflattering light. Her anger and bitterness toward Hazel have not abated despite the passage of time and she snipes and snaps at her mother at every turn. Diane is a downright unpleasant character whose attitude is absolutely ridiculous since she is now an adult and should seriously have let go of her resentment YEARS ago. Her jealousy over Hazel and Meghan's close relationship quickly grows tiresome as does her inability to feel any type of empathy for her mother's loss.

Should Hazel have attempted to explain to Diane why she was so worried about her daughter's safety? Of course. But in all honesty, she has a valid, albeit slightly skewed, reason for not revealing this traumatic secret. Hazel's actions stem from love and fear and although it is perfectly understandable that Diane would chafe at her mother's long ago restrictions, her present day reaction is over the top and completely out of proportion now she is a middle aged adult.

The mystery about what happened to young Maggie is quite interesting. Although it is fairly easy to guess what happened to her, Meghan and her partner Sean's investigation into the long ago disappearance is fascinating. While their chances at uncovering the truth are slim due to the passage of time, no matter how tenuous, they pursue every lead they uncover.

With a strong undercurrent of faith, Bringing Maggie Home is heartwarming novel of redemption and forgiveness. Although it is difficult to like Diane, Meghan and Hazel are enjoyable characters who share warm and loving relationship. Maggie's story arc is quite fascinating and the investigation into her disappearance is quite engrossing. The various storylines are completely wrapped up by the novel's conclusion and readers will love Kim Vogel Sawyer's sweet epilogue. show less

Everyone has secrets, and secrets are the essence of this wonderful novel by bestselling Christian author, Kim Vogel Sawyer. It has many of my favorite categories: dualing timelines, a cold case, a missing child, historical fiction and mystery.

The story begins in mid-July 1943 in a little town in Arkansas. Ten-year-old Hazel and her three-year-old sister, Maggie, have been sent to the blackberry bushes to pick the berries so their momma could make their daddy a blackberry cobbler for his birthday dinner. Hazel is distracted by a black snake that she saw headed in the general direction of a bunny burrow, complete with several baby bunnies. She runs after the snake, trying to change its direction, and when she gets back to the bushes, show more Maggie is gone. Without a trace. She is never found.

Maggie’s disappearance tears the family apart, and emotionally scars Hazel for life.

Fast forward to Las Vegas in 2013. Hazel lives there, a widow. Her only granddaughter, Meghan, is coming to visit for about six weeks, while she heals from injuries she suffered in a car accident. What neither Hazel nor Meghan, is that Meghan’s mother, Margaret Diane, also shows up on Hazel’s doorstep with her four dachshunds.

In alternating chapters, readers learn what makes each woman tick. Sometimes the identifiers of each woman are jarring. For example, when Margaret Diane is speaking, she refers to Hazel as Mother, while Meghan refers to Margaret Diane as Mom. But that doesn’t get in the way of a great story.

Meghan wants to create a scrapbook for her grandmother’s 80th birthday, and it’s while they are gathering pictures that little Maggie’s is discovered and secrets are unearthed. It takes about half of the book for Meghan to realize that cold cases are her specialty. She then enlists the help of her partner to solve the riddle of Maggie’s disappearance.

Bringing Maggie Home is highly readable and unputdownable. I want to give it 6 stars, but the two flaws mentioned earlier are why it only gets 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world show less

This story touched my heart in such a deep way that I felt compelled to message the author my gratitude when I was about three fourths of the way through the book. Reading this book felt like looking into a mirror from a variety of angles. While not everyone will have that experience, everyone will be touched by the depth of emotion evoked by Kim Vogel Sawyer through the lives of Hazel, Diane and Meghan DeFord.

Hazel had lived most of her life with a childhood secret that continued to impact the next two generations of her family. The secret's revelation and the restoration that followed could only have been orchestrated by God. Bringing Maggie Home is an intensely emotional story of forgiveness, hope, and faith. Ultimately it is a show more story of peace, the peace that passes all understanding.

I think NetGalley and WaterBrook for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was under no obligation to provide a positive review and received no monetary compensation. show less