"Secrets" by Robin Jones Gunn

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Jessica is running away to hide in the small town of Glenbrooke, Oregan in the Willamette Valley. Her plan to slip in quietly crashes quite literally when she loses control of her car and ends up in the ER. Things go downhill from there.

This book is full of completely unreal scenarios such as the woman in the emergency room hounding her for her id, contact person and insurance information right after they get her into the ER. I've been in the ER multiple times whether we drove there or in an ambulance and they NEVER asked more than once while everything was happening, and the trip in the ambulance they didn't even ask. They were more concerned with treating me than with paperwork.

In her big plan to escape, Jessica only brought about $300 with her (trying not to give spoilers, but that was unrealistic, too), so after paying her ER bill, she's left with $10.27. A chunk of the book is about her trying not to starve while waiting for her paycheck, which of course is delayed due to her file not being up date. She gave the school one name, while the principal that hired her (who is, of course, now in the hospital due to a stroke) listed her real name. The whole grocery deal was unrealistic, too. Who buys a loaf of bread for $.39?!? Even day old bread is a lot more than that normally.

The biggest problem I found in this book is that during all this financial trouble, Jessica is practically forced into accompanying a group from the church (which she doesn't attend) on a missions trip to Mexico as another chaperone. Really?! Churches are very careful who they have chaperone their kids, especially on an out-of-the-country missions trip. A woman they barely know and that no one has even tried to find out her spiritual state would NOT be a good choice. There were a lot more unrealistic situations (anyone know of a chiropracter giving a MONTH of free treatment to a total stranger?), but these cover enough to give you an idea about the book.

I really liked Teri. She was friendly, helpful, but not so perfect. I loved how she witnessed to Jessica, apologizing if she pushed too hard, but showing how she cared. "Please try to hear my heart and not my clumsy words" was probably my favorite line in the book. I have felt that way before when trying to witness to someone without pushing too hard, but trying to show my heart and how much I cared. We could use more Teri's in our lives.

All in all, this is a bit of fluff writing for killing a few hours as long as you don't mind unrealistic plots and no depth.

I received a copy of this book from WaterBrook Multnomah through Blogging For Books for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.