Crossing Oceans

"The true meaning of life is to plant trees whose shade you never expect to sit under."- Mama Peg, page 33. If my opinion meant anything, I would say that Gina Holmes just became the Jodi Picoult of Christian fiction. The issues are timely, the subject matter sensitive, the characters real in their emotions. My sister-in-law asked what the book is about. I would have to say it's a direct testament to 1 Corinthians 13. That people can hate, and hate can consume, but love will conquer it all... and maybe that what we leave behind, what we plant while we're here, that's our sacrifice. I have to admit, I almost put this book down when I learned of the disease that was killing the main character Jenny. (Spoiler alert! Don't read on if you don't appreciate a good spoiler!) When I found out that Jenny's diagnosis was that of metastatic melanoma, I stopped cold. I breathed in, and breathed out, and I heard Dr. Allen's words in my ears. "Well, the good news is, you're gonna die from something else. In five years, this would have been a big problem. You're lucky." Lucky, maybe. Blessed for sure. My skin cancer was a stage 0 melanoma-in-situ smaller than the office had ever scene on a biopsy. The fact that the dermatologist didn't like the look of that mole, or that I was even in a dermatologist's office at all, wasn't luck. I was blessed. Protected. And I am meant to die from something else. So as I read about Jenny, I thought about life. How we struggle to cling to it when it's really so far from being in our control that it's ridiculous. This book is about how a mother can love her child. How someone who loves will sacrifice. What they will sacrifice for that love. And most importantly, how death is not the end. There's only one other book I ever dropped a tear on- it was Picoult's My Sister's Keeper. By the time I got to the end of this book, I'd welled up twice. On the last page I bawled. I'd like to say it was because it was so eloquently written, so poignant and perfect, and that spurred the tears. All of that, it was. But really, I'd have to say the tears came from a place of being able to identify with the Jenny's fate; from having felt her hate, cherished her love, and reveled in her ending. Of all the Christian fiction I've been picking up to 'research' for my own desire to write in the genre, this is one of the most believable works I've read (no offense to other authors, I've not read everything yet) that falls into the romantic or mainstream story category where the characters are really like me. A sinner. Imperfect. Hypocritical. Forgetting God more than they're remembering Him, and calling on Him more when things are hard than when they're peachy. And the last line immediately made the music of Mark Schultz play in my head. I so want to spoil it, but I won't. I guess it's enough to say that those of us that relish our relationship with our Maker think about how it ends...or begins. Not just because

I thoroughly enjoyed this touching book about a woman's struggle through an almost unthinkable (but totally believable) struggle to find peace for her daughter and, ultimately, herself. I read this while getting my hair braided (6 hours, mind you). Gina's writing made me forget where I was and I fell into the story quicker than my leg fell asleep. Bravo, Gina! I look forward to reading more of your work :)

I am always hesitant to review a book written by a friend. Can you imagine how much more apprehensive I was reading the debut novel from not only a friend but a critique partner? A critique partner lives to rip and shred work to point out what's wrong and what needs to be changed to make the work readable. Though I've critiqued Gina Holmes for years, I had just glimpses into Crossing Oceans and I knew it was a very different style from her previous suspense novels. Her suspense is strong. But how well would her voice translate to women's fiction? Once I opened her book and began to read I can say that her voice translates with a poignant grace that is rare in a debut novelist. And Crossing Oceans is a story that Holmes was meant to tell. Holmes tackles a heavy story line with a touch of whimsy and deep, deep melancholy, sometimes in the same paragraph. A young mother, emotionally orphaned when her mother died and father cocooned himself in a cloak of angry grief, finds herself forced to return to the home she had escaped. Jenny has Stage IV metastatic cancer and must reunite with the family she fled for the sake of her little girl's very near future need. With less than a year to repair and restore relationships Jenny tackles the past and the future, the present and the pain, all while attempting to give her daughter, Isabella, memories and love and what life she has available to give. This is a novel that quickly overcame the author and my relationship with her. The story told itself in a realistic and three-dimensional tale of life and death, sorrow and fear, choices and consequences, pain and beauty, loss and hope. Holmes voice is similar to some of my favorite authors in the Christian fiction genre, Siri Mitchell, Charles Martin, Susan Meissner, Claudia Mair Burney, Lisa Samson and Bonnie Groves. Crossing Oceans is not an easy read. It is haunting and beautiful and raw. Expect to cry and expect to remember this family long after you turn the last page.

I've read thousands of books in my lifetime, but few have ever stayed with me like Crossing Oceans. Gina Holmes taps into every emotion known to man, and she does it well. She has truly mastered the art of storytelling. The young mother, Jenny, will capture your heart on the first page, as will her daughter, Isabella. But this isn't a simple story by any means. It's deep and complex. You'll go from tears to laughter, and when you turn the last page, you'll wish it wasn't. This is a book you want to go on. I highly recommend it.

I am one of the pickiest readers and this book captivated me from page one. Not only is Gina Holme's a terrific writer with beautiful prose, but her story is as real as it gets. It's not often a book can make me laugh out loud and cry all within the same bound pages, but Crossing Oceans did that and more. It's a painfully beautiful story that will keep you awake until 2am just to finish it in one sitting. You won't want to leave her characters. In fact, I want to know them more. I highly recommend this book and I can only say that about less than a handful of fiction books out there. This is one you won't want to miss! Can't wait to read more from this lovely author.