Home Another Way

Sarah Graham is a wounded woman. Daughter of an adulteress, father convicted of murder and raised by her emotionally distant grandmother from the age of one, Sarah understandably has some issues. However difficult her childhood, her own foolish, self-centered mistakes have compounded her general sense of betrayal; the world has let her down and nobody loves her, or so she believes.

Upon her estranged father’s death she arrives in the incredibly small town of Jonah, New York to claim her inheritance. The will includes the condition that she dwell in Jonah for six months before the monies will be released to her. Broke, homeless, and with a newly finalized divorce, the last thing Sarah wants to do is spend six months in an isolated show more mountain hamlet. With few other options available to her, she hunkers down for the snowy season and reluctantly comes to know the townsfolk.

Home Another Way is populated with an eccentric cast of characters. The people of Jonah are overwhelmingly Christian and downright unusual. Each has experienced some degree of pain in their lives, difficult circumstances, sin. Yet they all look for the light, the silver lining, and worse – they all speak well of Sarah’s deceased father, whom she is determined to hate.

Debut novelist Christa Parrish breathes new life into Christian fiction that focuses on interpersonal relationships. Home Another Way sparkles with crisp, cutting descriptive prose and veritably oozes angst. Convinced that everyone else is to blame for her destructive downward spiral, Sarah’s life is an open wound that she aggressively defends with sharp words, angry offensives, and seductive wiles. Her attempts to staunch its flow of blood include junk food, strange men, and impassioned, solitary violin solos.

Short chapters and rapid scene changes propel the reader through the novel. When it seems that Sarah’s self pity and anger will never end, glimpses of the joy and peace in the lives of those around her shine through the darkness to save the story from descending into pure depression. The contrast between her life as an unbeliever and those of the Christians she knows is stark, yet believable due to their foibles and realistic lives. These characters are so authentic in their quirks and qualities that they linger in the memory long after the story is over. From the obese Memory, her heart for hospitality and grown invalid son to young Beth with her disfiguring scars and pure heart – their unremitting hope and faith is a beacon to all who will encounter them.

Parrish swerves to avoid clichés and predictable, tidy endings to provide readers with an authentic, satisfying conclusion. Not everything is as it seems for Sarah, or for the reader. Those seeking a refreshing change of pace from the glut of repetitive Christian romance titles will be pleasantly surprised.

As Sarah comes to know the villagers, their gritty brand of tough love combined with genuine compassion and concern bring her to a new place in her life; a place where she can start over. Ultimately Home Another Way details the birth of a new beginning, the start of healing and of redemption.

Reviewed at http://quiverfullfamily.com show less

Decent first novel with complex characters and a compelling plot. Some parts seemed trite and predictable, but the author also reaches some original and thoughtful insight. A little preachy at times -- (Christian fiction) Sarah Graham is broke and broken and heads to the small upstate NY mountain town of Jonah (example of preachy aspect) to pick up what her father has willed her after his death. They have long been estranged since he ruined their family in her childhood. However, his will has conditions: she must live in Jonah for 6 mos. before she can claim the cash. This helps her heal despite her attempts to keep everyone at arm's length. Quick, light read.

Home Another Way is unlike many of the other Christian novels I've read, and that's what I liked best about it. There are many themes within the book, such as forgiveness, adultery, abortion, divorce, and premarital sex, and Parrish is never preachy. Best of all, Sarah is unlike any character I've seen in Christian fiction (granted, I haven't read all that much) because she's not really religious. She's promiscuous, vindictive, and angry, but also vulnerable and caring. She's far from perfect...she's real. The book didn't end like I expected, and I was glad because it made it more believable. Parrish created a wonderful cast of characters in Home Another Way (she made me sad that there isn't that small-town sense of community where I show more live), and I hope she revisits these characters in the future.

Full review on Diary of an Eccentric show less

If you are someone that thinks that Christian fiction is always positive, with sunny, happy characters who are willing to drop everything to help out whoever walks by, you need to read this book. It will definitely change your mind about the genre. This book isn't your typical Christian fiction book. The town of Jonah, New York has been a safe haven for Sarah Graham's father and now after his death, it has become hers. I enjoyed reading about her becoming acquainted with the small town and its cast of characters. Also the discovery about the truth of the situation involving her parents is painful yet life changing for her. The chemistry between Sarah and Jack is really excellent, and I really liked his character.

Sarah is an extremely show more prickly character. Throughout almost the entire book, she is nothing but mean, snippy, rude and always trying to get a rise out of a person just for the fun of it. I understand where her hostility comes from. If I had to live the life she went through, with a mother killed by your father who then abandons you with a grandmother who tells you everyday you are worthless, I'd be angry and sullen too. However her attitude continues throughout the entire book and her continual rebuffs at those who try to help her make it very difficult to actually like her as a character. I found myself several times in the book wanting to yell at her to just listen to what the other person had to say before making snap judgments about them.

I did feel that the ending was rather abrupt and leaves the reader with a sense of incompleteness. I honestly felt that there could have been more, not necessarily a neat and tidy ending, but at least a little bit more closure than what we were given. It made me almost feel as if the time I invested in the book seem to have vanished almost immediately. I really liked the entire Watson family and would have liked more closure with them as well. That being said though, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is not preachy at all and the storyline sucks you and keeps you wanting to read more. This is an absolutely wonderful debut novel and I am looking forward to reading future works from Christa Parrish. HIGHLY recommended. show less

This is one of the only Christian fiction books I have ever read (most likely the only one, actually); I decided to give it a chance since I received it as an ARC, and hey, it is only a couple hundred pages long. I was surprised to get drawn into this well-written story in the first couple of chapters, and I pretty much read it straight through. Sarah had a tough life; her father murdered her mother, leaving her to be raised by a resental grandmother, and she is coming to Jonah after a failed marriage and a stillborn child. In order to receive her inheritance from her estranged father, she has to spend six months living in Jonah. This was actually a wise condition from her father as I don't think Sarah would have given him a chance of a show more relationship or forgiveness when he was still living. By staying at her father's cabin and interacting with the people of Jonah, she gets to learn who her father really was and who she really is. She did grow emotionally through this process, but the book did not end with her becoming a saint with a perfect life - she still has a ways to go and some things were left unresolved...I felt this was a good choice by the author, I do not always like when everything is predictably wrapped up by the last chapter, plus it leaves the door open for a second book to continue her story. I am looking forward to reading more about Sarah. show less

Sarah goes to the very small backwoods town of Jonah to collect the inheritance left to her by her father, whom she hasn't seen since she was one, when he was incarcerated for killing her mother. In order to claim the estate she must live in Jonah for six months. Sarah is reluctantly drawn into the lives of the small town folk and the barriers she has surrounded herself with begin to crumble.

What a wonderful book, I really didn't want it to end and I hope there is another book about Sarah and the residents of Jonah. I found myself with unexpected tears running down my face while reading parts of this novel, I truly didn't expect to be that immersed in the story.

Home Another Way is the story of Sarah Graham, a woman consumed by bitterness, anger, and a troubled past, who finds herself relunctantly spending six months in a small mountain community in order to collect an inheritance left to her by a father she never really knew.

As you would expect, Sarah's stay in Jonah starts out rocky and gets quite a bit worse before it gets better. I would have liked to see more detail about Sarah's past brought out much earlier in the novel. She's not an easy character to like and the fact that the town's residents have the desire to help and support her is a little hard to accept when she returns their warmth with rudeness at every turn. This would have been a lot more understandable if we'd learned about show more her troubled childhood and the heartbreak she suffered as a young adult sooner.

Despite that, though, I really enjoyed the novel and was sorry to see it end. By the end I liked Sarah and the people of Jonah so much I was wishing for a sappy, pat, feel-good ending. Parrish doesn't deliver on that though. She gives you an ending that's a lot like life - kind of up in the air, but still satisfying.

I'm not sure how much appeal this novel will have with the general public based on its religious bent. Having recently gone through a time of searching and ultimately finding, I found it beautiful, comforting and affirming. I hope readers who don't consider themselves people of faith will give it a chance. show less