Mother of Pearl

I am excited to tell you about another delightful debut author that I met through some blog comments online and then met in person at ACFW in September. Her book has been in my TBR pile and I finally got my head above water to read it last week. You don't want to miss it!

Mother of Pearl
Kellie Coates Gilbert
(Abingdon Press)
ISBN: 978-1426733437
September 2012/304 pages/$14.99
Barrie Graeber has two great kids, a loving husband, and a respected job as the high school counselor in her close-knit community. Without warning, everything unravels when her teenage daughter, Pearl, is betrayed by friends and lashes out.

Nothing prepares this mother for the helplessness that follows when her attempts to steer her daughter back on course fail and Pearl shuts her out . . . or when she discovers the unthinkable about her nemesis, the football coach.

Emotionally riveting and profoundly moving, Mother of Pearl brings us into the heart of a mother bound by an incredible burden, who ultimately finds she must recognize her own vulnerability and learn to trust in something much bigger.



Read the first chapter.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A former legal investigator and trial paralegal, Kellie Coates Gilbert writes with a sympathetic, intimate knowledge of how people react under pressure. She is a Pacific Northwest native, and now calls Dallas home.

MY THOUGHTS

Wow. As the mom of a girl Pearl's age, I wasn't sure I could manage reading this novel, but I could not put it down. Kellie Coates Gilbert has crafted a story that reaches deep into the heart of a mother's protective nature and passionate love for her child. Mother of Pearl is fiction, yet it portrays a reality that, unfortunately, happens far too often in today's society. Gilbert develops and paces the story with a skill beyond that expected of a debut author. While she doesn't shy away from tackling this difficult subject, she handles it with sensitivity; while omitting specific details of events, she nevertheless sucessfully communicates the powerful emotional impact. More than simply a dramatic "soap opera" of a novel, however, Mother of Pearl contains a gentle yet strong message of faith and hope without being preachy. I highly recommend this novel but suggest you keep a tissue box handy! And add Kellie Coates Gilbert to your list of authors to watch; I predict great things from her!

Kellie Coates Gilbert is the featured author this week on ACFW's Fiction Finder. you can read an interview with her here. Here's a sneak peek: I want my books to appeal to all kinds of readers - those who sit on church pews and barstools alike."


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book from Kellie Coates Gilbert. I was not required to post a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”