Renovating Becky Miller

Reading books written in first person is not usually my first choice, but I found Renovating Becky Miller so enticing that I forgot it was in first person. Sharon Hinck drew me into the book by opening each chapter with a daydream Becky Miller was indulging herself in. In each chapter, Becky loses herself in a movie she and her husband have seen on their weekly date nights. Becky Miller's life is not easy. She's a mother, a wife, has a part-time job at her church working with the women's ministries, and is disabled, just to add a little icing to her cake of a life. Already harrying, Becky's life is complicated by the purchase of a new home for her family. What looked like the perfect solution to a cramped home life turns into a renovation nightmare for Becky and husband Kevin. Will their marriage survive? Will the family survive? Will Becky remain sane, or will she lose herself in one of her daydreams and never come home? I kept turning pages of Renovating Becky Miller partly because I had to know what Sharon would use as her next chapter opening, but mostly because I became engrossed in Becky's life. I laughed and I cried and now I have to go back and find the first book in Sharon's series about Becky Miller, The Secret Life of Becky Miller. By the way, I guessed most of the titles of the movies Sharon uses as chapter opening scenarios, but in case you don't recognize them, there is a list of them at the end of the book.

Ever wondered if God has Big Things planned for your life? Ever been too tired to care or too busy to wonder about it much? Then Renovating Becky Miller is a must-read! I fell in love with this book from the cinematic daydreams that segue perfectly into Becky's everyday life to the cast of characters I wanted to hang out with. I loved Becky's honest transparency and how easily I could relate to her. Not only that, but what God taught Becky in the pages of this book, He also taught me as I laughed, cried, and cheered for Becky and her family. This book is more relaxing than a Calgon escape and (dare I say it?) even more enjoyable than chocolate! I give Renovating Becky Miller 5 out of 5 stars and a wholehearted Heart Chocolate top pick of 2007!

Becky Miller is back. This time the supermom is facing a daunting new task: moving into a spacious farmhouse that needs some fixing up. All she wants is just some movie nights with her husband and family in a new quiet simpler life out in the country. Alas that is not to be as the farmhouse needs the Extreme Home Makeover of a lifetime, Kevin's mom (whom Becky can't seem to please) moves in with them, her friend Lori is battling depression, her work at church is stretching her thin, and to top it off Kevin and her aren't having the wonderful loving marriage she thought it would be. It'll take some renovating of her own to show Becky what is and should be the most important things in her life and how once again Supermom can't do it all. First off I want to say I am a huge movie geek nerd. So is it sad that I recognized almost all the movie scenes prologues without even having to look in the back of the book? I absolutely loved those times when Becky uses her imagination. And she did all my favorites: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Indiana Jones, James Bond! (I'm showing my inner geek here) I felt this book was even better than the first. The writing is top notch with lots of humor and feeling. I really love how Becky does allow herself to get angry and frustrated at people even if its close family and friends. It makes her a more real and relatable character. I really could feel sympathetic for Becky in this book. It seemed that no matter what she did it wasn't good enough for anyone. She really stretched herself out thin trying to help both the church and her family. I agree with Becky about the church doing too much to help out others but not think about their actual members. Yes it is important that we need to witness to others but should church members have to suffer from being burnt out? I also felt Becky's pain about trying to have to please Kevin's mom all the time, and how she had to back down because Kevin's mom had the bad past background card to trump everything Becky did. Also at times I got frustrated with Kevin. It seemed to me he was being selfish at times just because Becky wasn't giving him the attention he wanted. It almost seemed providential that Becky hurt her leg again so that people could finally realize that they needed to show her more appreciation. It's really sad to think about how we take our moms for granted sometime. This is one of the best mom-lit books out there. It makes me wonder if this will be what my life will be like next time when I have my own family. I highly recommend this book for everyone (moms, movie lovers, home renovation experts). Here's hoping for a Becky Miller Episode III: Revenge of the Kids....

I was so exctied to find that Ms Hinck had written a sequel to The Secret Life of Becky Miller. I thought the first book did such a great job of wrapping up all the loose ends, I was not sure where this story would go. But let me tell you, Becky Miller was not finished. She had many more tales to tell. This book is great and I loved the change from the super hero intros of each chapter to the movie excerpts. They tie in so well. Great book. Extremely quick read! I highly reccomend it!