Review: The Story Keepy by Lisa Wingate

September 1, 2014

Title: The Story Keeper
Author: Lisa Wingate
Publisher: Tyndale
Pages: 448
ISBN: 978-1-4143-8689-8
Publication Date: August 22nd, 2014

Synopsis:
When successful New York editor Jen Gibbs discovers a decaying slush-pile manuscript on her desk, she has no idea that the story of Sarra, a young mixed-race woman trapped in Appalachia at the turn of the twentieth century, will both take her on a journey and change her forever. Happy with her life in the city, and at the top of her career with a new job at Vida House Publishing, Jen has left her Appalachian past and twisted family ties far behind. But the search for the rest of the manuscript, and Jen’s suspicions about the identity of its unnamed author, will draw her into a mystery that leads back to the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains . . . and quite possibly through the doors she thought she had closed forever.
 Review:
I just discovered Lisa Wingate's books earlier this year. My goodness, what a talented author she is. In The Story Keeper, Lisa is able to weave a story that pulls at you and brings you into the story to not only follow along, but to join in and wonder what the characters are going to do and how things will play out.

The Story Keeper was such a unique story. Like the previous book I read, The Story Keeper takes the contemporary and mixes it with the past. The pacing of the story was perfect and it flowed effortlessly from past to present and it tied the two periods together beautifully.

Jen Gibbs is a girl who knows what she wants and she fights for it. It's what her new boss likes about her. She is willing to take risks that need to be taken to land the prized book deals. Jen has done so much to move ahead in her life, while pushing the past as far back as she can. It is not a time she wants to go back to. However, her ideas are set aside when a old manuscript calls to her. It grabs a hold of her and doesn't let her go. And sadly, the manuscript only contains the first three chapters, and she is desperate to know how the story will end. And to find it out, she is sent within a few miles of her old home and a place that holds a lot of unhappy memories and is forced to face her past head on while dealing with issues of the present.

The setting of this book is so unique. We follow Jen in the present and then switch outlooks when she dives into the pages of The Story Keeper with Sarra and Rand...but as she dives further in, she winds up in a sci-fi convention of sorts that is going on in the small town, that is based on a series of books (which by the way sound like they would be fantastic to read). The way that each of these aspects are woven together makes the story flow and offer a fun setting.

There is so much to this story and many characters dealing with real life issues that anyone can relate to in some way. Whether it is personally or through a friend. It is also a story of how your past can shape who you become. Whether you stick closely to what you have been taught, or you desire to flee as far from it as possible. Your past is always going to be there, it's what you make of it is how it will define you.

Too Read
4 out of 5

About the Author: 
Selected among BOOKLIST'S Top 10 of 2012 and Top 10 of 2013, Lisa Wingate skillfully weaves lyrical writing and unforgettable Southern settings with elements of women's fiction, history, and mystery to create stories that Publisher's Weekly calls "Masterful" and ForeWord Magazine refers to as "Filled with lyrical prose, hope, and healing.” Lisa is a journalist, an inspirational speaker, a reviewer for the New York Journal of Books, and the author of over over twenty novels and countless magazine pieces.

Her books have held positions on many bestseller lists, both in the U.S. and internationally. She is a seven-time ACFW Carol award nominee, a Christy Award nominee, an Oklahoma Book Award finalist, a Christianity Today Book Award nominee, an Inspy Award nominee, a two-time Carol Award winner, a LORIES Best Fiction Award winner, and a Utah Library Award winner. Recently, the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa along with Bill Ford, Camille Cosby, and six others, as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life.

Visit Lisa at her website: www.LisaWingate.com
Lisa Wingate is a magazine columnist, speaker, and the author of nineteen mainstream novels, including the national bestseller, Tending Roses, now in its eighteenth printing.  She is a seven-time ACFW Carol award nominee, a Christy Award nominee, and a two-time Carol Award winner. Her novel, Blue Moon Bay, was a Booklist Top Ten of 2012 pick.  Recently, the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa along with Bill Ford, Camille Cosby, and six others, as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life.  When not dreaming up stories, Lisa spends time on the road as a motivational speaker. Via internet, she shares with readers as far away as India, where her book, Tending Roses, has been used to promote women's literacy, and as close to home as Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the county library system has used Tending Roses to help volunteers teach adults to read.

Lisa lives on a ranch in Texas, where she spoils the livestock, raises boys, and teaches Sunday school to high school seniors. She was inspired to become a writer by a first grade teacher who said she expected to see Lisa's name in a magazine one day.

Lisa also entertained childhood dreams of being an Olympic gymnast and winning the National Finals Rodeo, but was stalled by the inability to do a back flip on the balance beam and parents who wouldn't finance a rodeo career. She was lucky enough to marry into a big family of cowboys and southern storytellers who would inspire any lover of tall tales and interesting, yet profound characters. She is a full time writer, and pens inspirational fiction for both the general Christian markets. Of all the things she loves about her job, she loves connecting with people, both real and imaginary, the most.  More information about Lisa's novels can be found at www.Lisawingate.com.
- See more at: http://www.tyndale.com/10_Authors/author_bio.php?authorID=1588#sthash.tyXgsiVn.dpuf
Lisa Wingate is a magazine columnist, speaker, and the author of nineteen mainstream novels, including the national bestseller, Tending Roses, now in its eighteenth printing.  She is a seven-time ACFW Carol award nominee, a Christy Award nominee, and a two-time Carol Award winner. Her novel, Blue Moon Bay, was a Booklist Top Ten of 2012 pick.  Recently, the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa along with Bill Ford, Camille Cosby, and six others, as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life.  When not dreaming up stories, Lisa spends time on the road as a motivational speaker. Via internet, she shares with readers as far away as India, where her book, Tending Roses, has been used to promote women's literacy, and as close to home as Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the county library system has used Tending Roses to help volunteers teach adults to read.

Lisa lives on a ranch in Texas, where she spoils the livestock, raises boys, and teaches Sunday school to high school seniors. She was inspired to become a writer by a first grade teacher who said she expected to see Lisa's name in a magazine one day.

Lisa also entertained childhood dreams of being an Olympic gymnast and winning the National Finals Rodeo, but was stalled by the inability to do a back flip on the balance beam and parents who wouldn't finance a rodeo career. She was lucky enough to marry into a big family of cowboys and southern storytellers who would inspire any lover of tall tales and interesting, yet profound characters. She is a full time writer, and pens inspirational fiction for both the general Christian markets. Of all the things she loves about her job, she loves connecting with people, both real and imaginary, the most.  More information about Lisa's novels can be found at www.Lisawingate.com.
- See more at: http://www.tyndale.com/10_Authors/author_bio.php?authorID=1588#sthash.tyXgsiVn.dpuf


Thank you to the Tyndale Blog Network, I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

2 comments

  1. I love novels about authors and writers. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Alana, This book is for you then! :-) It offered a fun glimpse into the publishing and writing world.

    Thanks for visiting!

    ReplyDelete

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