Unshaken

Francine Rivers has become one of my favorite Christian fiction authors due to her ability to bring me right into the story. I love the history of the Bible and the when the stories are enhanced just enough to make the story real it is so exciting and almost like going back in time. It's like watching a movie that is based on a true story with the embellishments used by the movie production team. Francine's research is impeccable, and I recommend her books to all! Her books are the ones I loan out and ask that they be returned to me.

When I first picked up this book, I began to read it with my safety net of doubt firmly in place. Most of the biblical fiction I've encountered over the years have been full of stiff dialog or narrowly researched story lines that lose the readers interest in it's quest to drive home a moral or spiritual point. This one is different.Rivers tossed that bad habit of stiff dialog out the window when she wove together this partly fictional account of Ruth, Naomi and Boaz. As one of my favorite stories since I was a little girl, it was so warming to read more about Ruth, and I was delighted that Rivers kept her character true to her original, biblical presentation. She didn't try to remind us that Ruth was a girl like any of the rest of us, by pointing out her flaws or catching her in her weak moments. Instead she portrays her as a strong, faithful, trusting woman whose faith in God matures as she makes her new life with her mother-in-law after her husband dies. Rivers understanding and research of biblical culture and customs more fully explains the impact of Ruth leaving her family to move back to Naomi's home town, this enlightenment brings even more meaning to a story I assumed I already completely grasped. Rivers also adds a great deal of humor in her character's dialog and actions. She gives the reader a great visua,l which is especially important when we already know the basic outline and outcome of the story. I fully recommend this book to anyone who has read the story of Ruth and Boaz a hundred times and still finds themselves thinking about the details we might never know the full truth of.

I know Ruth's story well, but this book was a wonderful "fleshing" out of the biblical version. It answers the questions of who Ruth was before she married Naomi's son, and why she felt it necessary to go with Naomi, even after Orpah turned back. The situation Ruth & Naomi were in during their stay in Bethlehem could not be any worse. Gradually, the people of Bethlehem realized that although Ruth was a foreigner, she was a good and humble person who only wanted to provide for Naomi. The love story between Boaz and Ruth is romantic, in a way. How lucky they were to have Naomi as an intermediary.Enjoy this book. I am going to continue reading the series.

Francine Rivers continues her excellent Lineage of Grace series with the story of Ruth. She follows the familiar narrative in the Bible as Ruth's husband and father-in-law die and she accompanies her mother-in-law Naomi back to her native Bethlehem. Throughout the book we see Ruth's courage and the faith she had adopted during her marriage to Naomi's son. She never stops believing that God will guide her to a better life and does not give in to the temptation of the false gods which surround her. Rivers has a way of remaining true to the Bible and yet fleshing out the stories so that they remain vivid in the reader's mind.

There are only two authors whose books I buy just because their name is on them, and Francine Rivers is one of those two. _Unshaken_, the latest in her Lineage of Grace series, simply reinforces my opinion. Her greatest gift is in realistic portrayal of characters. Ruth isn't a far-off character, but a woman with struggles, hopes, difficult emotions, and dreams just like I am. I can empathize with multiple characters in the book and learn more about myself through each of them. In the process of the book, I am given a better understanding of my relationship with God and am challenged to be a woman as Ruth was. _This_ is what I consider a true romance: nothing frothy, but deep, true, and pure throughout.

Francine Rivers has become my favorite author. The story of Ruth has made me long to be an example of a Godly woman ,of this century. I can only struggle to put my feelings into words..when Francine Rivers paints beautiful word pictures in our minds as we read her work. Ruth and her devotion,I want to be like her!! As i look into my young daughters eyes..i am in wonder on how to raise a child to have such passion for God like Ruth. May the story of Ruth make everyone who reads of her, be inspired to continue on in their lifes journey with a new perspective.. Thank you Francine Rivers, for giving us deep soul searching books that challenge us women to go on...