Oceans Apart

The God given faith of a little child brings us into a story that truly takes us in. By far, MAX is my favorite character in this book. The emotions within this book can certainly be felt and understood by many in today's world. Get your Kleenex ready! A good one to read for those women who feel helpless in a mistake they can't erase. God takes His place in the lives of several characters in this book. He ALWAYS comes out on top!

I was SO moved by this book. I'm not a teary person, but I cried 5 times, while reading this book. I also stayed up all night reading it, because the content was so compelling. Max is 7 years old, he has the perfect life with his mom Kiahna, who is a stewardess and his best friend in the whole world, Buddy, his dog. His mother's and his friend Raimey who has looked after Max, for his whole life. Raimey is an older lady with complicated health issues. Everything was perfect, until one day, Max's mommy didn't come home. Raimey took care of him and Buddy, as Raimey notified Kiahna's attorney that she was dead. Raimey found that Kiahna's will stipulated that Max spend two weeks with his biological father, before he be put up for adoption. Max has never heard of, or seen his father. It has always just been him and mommy; with Raimey helping out some. Kiahna and Conner met at an airport in Honolulu, when Conner, a commercial airline pilot gets stranded at the airport, when a hurricane is blowing around. One thing led to another, after a series of misunderstandings and the following day, Conner flew home to his family. Kiahna & Max lived in their own, special little world. It devastated everyone around Max, because he was such a wonderful little boy with all of this tragedy all around him. Highly recommend.

Kingsbury makes you think about how you would react about life situations. After reading one of her books, you put your faith and beliefs in check. As with all of her books, I leave several tear soaked pages and pass them on to my daughters to read, who in turn pass them on to their friends, who pass them on to their mothers!! It's a great way to share God's love.

I have good news for readers who are Karen Kingsbury fans, and even better news for readers who are not: this is far and away the best novel I've read by this bestselling author of something like 30 books. It's a powerful story of forgiveness, reconciliation and grace, wrapped up in a genuine page-turner. And if you've never read Kingsbury before, this is the one to start with. The promotional material from Zondervan, including the synopsis on the back cover, refers to the "perfect" life of airline captain Connor Evans and his wife, Michele, and their two daughters. Frankly, that word is an immediate turn-off for me; it implies shallow, stereotyped characters, an overdone scenario, and unimaginative writing. If I hadn't been assigned to read this book, I probably would have ignored it. The Evanses may have a decent and privileged life, but it's not a perfect life, the kind populated with cardboard characters. These are real people who happen to have it pretty good until an airline crash in the Pacific shakes things up for them in Florida. That's when Connor discovers that an indiscretion years earlier resulted in more than a good time. He has a son, and he has a choice: forget about him and pretend the one-night stand with the boy's mother never happened, or come clean with his wife, meet his son, Max, for the first time, and make Max a part of their family, at least temporarily. One of the elements that sets this book apart is the light hand the author uses throughout. She skillfully weaves in the faith message and allows the story to unfold naturally. It's not until late in the book that we learn the circumstances that led to Connor's unfaithfulness; it would have been so easy, and ultimately so unsatisfying to the reader, to place those scenes early on in the book in an effort to simply get them out of the way. Nothing about OCEANS APART feels "wrong"; even the Florida setting rings true, which isn't always the case in the hands of non-native writers. The forgiveness theme in particular never feels forced or superficial. So much forgiveness is needed on so many levels, and Kingsbury lets the process that leads to forgiveness develop over time. Equally impressive is the way she handles the theme of "second chances," and not just with regard to the obvious second chance that Connor needs. All of this reflects a multilayered effort on the author's part, and one that she carries off well. Readers who have found some of Kingsbury's plots to be implausible --- ONE TUESDAY MORNING and its sequel, BEYOND TUESDAY MORNING, come to mind --- should be pleasantly surprised with the achingly realistic story line in OCEANS APART. And the characters --- you just may find yourself loving Max and respecting each of the major characters, along with the decisions they end up making. OCEANS APART won the ECPA Gold Medallion Award for fiction, which means it was selected as the best novel of 2004 by both retailers and a panel of independent judges. It's certa

Conner and Michele Evans seem like the couple that have it all. Great home, loving daughters and their whole lives ahead of them. But Conner has something that he has been hiding from Michele. Seven years ago he had an affair that resulted in a child, Max. Now Max is alone in the world and he needs a family. But is the Evans family it? This was the first book that I read by Karen Kingsbury and I really enjoyed it. Ms. Kingsbury gave real emotions to her characters. She also showed about faith and forgiveness and how it is important to ones life. Overall, I would be interested in reading more from Karen Kingsbury.

This was the second book that I have read by Karen Kingsbury, and I gladly admit that she is the best writer when it comes to real life issues. My husband laughed when I cried endlessly while reading this (he hates reading ficiton), but little did he know how incredibly real it seemed. Somehow Kingsbury always creates such unending depth in her characters and their stories, that I can't but stand in awe of the gift God has given her for writing. What an incredible ministry. Thank you Karen Kingsbury.

Karen Kingsbury continues her string of amazing writings with Oceans Apart. Once again, I couldn't put this book down, and my husband was amazed at how fast I read. Secrets can destroy anyone, and it almost happens here. God's grace and love are personified in Oceans Apart. Max is so innocent and wise, and everyone will learn from his trusting heart. Kiahna's plans for her son may tear apart a family, yet God intervened. Have that comfy chair and box of tissues once again as you read and appreciate the gift that God has given Karen Kingsbury.