Monson, Stacy. When Mountains Sing. Plymouth, MN: His Image Publications, 2019.
About Stacy Monson
Stacy Monson is the award-winning author of The Chain of Lakes series, including Shattered Image, Dance of Grace, and The Color of Truth, and also Open Circle. Her stories reveal an extraordinary Godat work in ordinary life. She’s an active member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the MN Christian Writers Guild (MCWG). Residing in the Twin Cities, she is the wife of a juggling, unicycling recently-retired physical education teacher, mom to two amazing kids and two wonderful in-law kids, and a very proud grandma of 4 (and counting) grands.
From the front matter
Beginning August 2019, The Mosaic Collection will release one book each month for the next twelve months, exploring our theme, Family by His Design, and sharing stories that feature diverse, God-designed families. All are contemporary stories ranging from mystery and women’s fiction to comedic and literary fiction.
About the book
When the truth cost her everything, she thought there was nothing left to lose.
Mikayla Gordon loves nothing more than sleeping under the stars, reeling in the “big one,” and long hikes in the wilderness. A medical crisis reveals a 30-year-old secret that turns everything she’s known and believed upside down, unraveling her dreams and her identity.
In search of answers, she follows a trail from Minnesota to Colorado and discovers more unwelcome secrets even as she falls in love with the majestic beauty of the Rocky Mountains, and a wilderness camp leader who shares the greatest secret of all.
Knowing her life can never go back to what it was, she must make decisions that will impact far more than just her future.
My Review
When I first finished reading When Mountains Sing, my first thought was WOW. Stacy Monson includes so many emotionally charged issues in this book, I was glad I had a Sunday afternoon to read it through – I’m sure thinking about Mikayla would have kept me awake at night. It is a fantastic book. Monson has created realistic characters that readers can relate to.
Life is not always what it seems, but sometimes the twists and turns of life are what force us to turn to God for direction. That is exactly what happens with Mikayla. Health issues, parental infidelity and more – just when she thinks she has found out all the secrets she is going to find out – another one pops up. The reader may wonder, how much can this poor girl handle. She doesn’t really handle it well, until she realizes her identity is in God – not her family or circumstances.
The journey Mikayla goes on both physically and emotionally takes her many places, Stacy Monson uses these places to create a good story. She also shows readers that family isn’t only blood – adoption, fellow believers, friends, and co-workers can all form a family bond – something good to remember in today’s world of fractured families.
The twists and turns in the plot may leave the reader wondering – what will Mikayla decide in the end. I found the end of the book to be very satisfying.
Potential Area of Concern
There are a couple of instances of drinking wine. They are very minor – really just mentioned in passing. If this is an area of concern for your audience I recommend you read the book for yourself.
I would not hesitate to add When Mountains Sing to my K-12 Christian school library. I think the book is appropriate for eighth grade and older.
I want to thank Stacy Monson and JustRead Publicity Tours for the complimentary e-copy of When Mountains Sing. It is a privilege to participate in the book’s launch. This is my honest review.
When Mountains Sing (The Mosaic Collection): My Father’s House series, Book 1
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