Blogging for Books-Departures

 Ok Gang, here is my second official Book Review. I was able to choose another of Robin Jones Gunn's books to read and I'm excited to tell you about Departures. If you didn't read my first book blog post you can find it here.

The book Departures is not a "new" book; in fact, Robin Jones Gunn titles this book Departures: Two Rediscovered Stories. Rediscovered is just what these two novellas are. This book was originally published in 1999 but shortly went out of print. I read this book when it first came out, but it was fun to reread the latest addition. I have read every book that Gunn has written, and once again she does not disappoint.

These two novellas (short novels) are a fun combo that Gunn put together about two of her most popular characters from the Christy Miller Series and the Sierra Jensen Series.

If you haven’t read these two series by Gunn – you might not fully understand the stories. Each novella was written to stand on its own, but reading Departures will be much more enjoyable if you know about the characters ahead of time.

The first story Now Boarding at Gate 10 is written about Christy Miller. She is traveling back to her hometown (Wisconsin) with her family to celebrate her Grandparent’s 50th wedding anniversary. The timeline takes place between the books Sweet Dreams & A Promise is Forever. Christy is fresh off her breakup with Todd and is searching for answers about what the future might hold. While she is back, she is able to hang out with her childhood crush Mathew Kingsley. They both are questioning if there is anything “there” between them. It was neat to read about where Christy came from before the beginning of a Summer Promise (book 1).
One of my favorite scenes is an interaction that Christy has between her Grandparents at their anniversary party. Christy asks them how they knew they were the ones for each other and this is their response: “It’s a choice you know…You get to know someone and then you ask yourself, ‘Would I like to spend the rest of my life with this person?’ If the answer is yes, then you wait until you have a big argument. Or until something goes wrong, or he does something you don’t like. And when things are at their lowest, you ask yourself again, ‘Would I like to spend the rest of my life with this person?’ If the answer is still yes, then you know you’re in love…That’s only the beginning. You make one big decision and follow it up with a lifetime of little decisions that support that first one” (67-68). In the end, Christy is at peace with whatever God has planned for her future.

The second story In the Event of a Water Landing is written about Sierra Jensen. Being the adventurous spirit that Sierra is, she is off with a childhood friend to celebrate the 4th of July in Montana. This was written before the Sierra Jensen series begins, so it was a fun preface to the series. Because of some airline changes, it takes longer for the group to arrive at their destination, and along the way Sierra has to patiently help her friend Jana work through feeling “out of control.” Also, because Sierra is a tomboy and slower to develop the boy crazy feelings, she is caught off guard when all Jana wants to do is find a boyfriend. Sierra has to fight off her competitive nature so she doesn’t try to compete with her friend for the boys’ attention.
Throughout this novella, Sierra remains pretty stable. She has an awesome encounter with God while star gazing and realizes that she wants to have more insight when it comes to her relationship with the Lord: “Schoolwork had come easily for her. Whenever facts entered her brain, they seemed to stick around, and she could pull them out when necessary, like on a test. What she wanted more than knowledge was wisdom. Insight. Understanding” (151). Because I know this character well, this quote was special to me because I know that she yearns for this insight throughout the entire Sierra Jensen series.

Departures is written for the young adult reader. What I like about Christy and Sierra is that both girls are so different in personality, yet are still great examples for any young girl to follow. And we learn in other books that these two characters become great lifelong friends. Both Christy and Sierra have a relationship with Christ, but “religion” isn’t forced on the reader – it’s just a part of who the girls are. I would recommend these books for girls ages 11+.

Rediscovering Departures by Robin Jones Gunn was like meeting some old friends at a cute coffee house and hearing about some of their teenage experiences. If only these friends didn’t just exist on paper.

*FTC Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Well, I hope that  you are now interested in Departures. More importantly, maybe you are now interested in reading books written by Robin Jones Gunn!
There is an excerpt available here. I would love it if you could visit my review at Blogging for Books. There you will find information on how to purchase the book, as well as rank my review.