This book was returned to the library when I was working this week (our book has a different cover) and I hastily thought, "Hhm, that sounds interesting." So I brought it home and started in.
At first (and actually for over half of the book) I hated it. Just like I hated The First Gardner. (Sorry Denise!) Just like I hated The Swan House. It was just sad, sad, sad!! Nothing funny, I never laughed once in this book. I'm not really a crier when it comes to books, but if I was I probably would have been bawling my eyes out.
Somewhat brief summary:
Dad is a son of a rich billionaire who grew a company from scratch. Mom was a runaway who got Jesus. Met dad, fell in love and got married. Had sweet twins, then died in a car wreck. Dad (who also got Jesus and doesn't want any of his dad's money) carries on the best he can with these two toddlers. When they are three, Dad falls in love with Amanda and she embraces the girls as if they were her own, especially since she can't have any. Well, a few months after they get married Dad and the rich grandparents all die in a plane wreck. All the money/mansion/company/etc goes to Amanda, who doesn't even want it, like Dad didn't. However, on the day of the funeral Mom's parents (who are trash from the scum) come to claim the twins, saying they are blood relatives and should raise them. (Of course we all know they really just want the money.) Since Amanda's adoption of the girls had not finished going through the process, the judge had no reason not to let them go with trashy grandparents (TG). Tears ensue all the way around, except for TG who take them to their trashy dirty house and lock them in separate closets when they cry. Amanda would give the TG everything, just to have the girls back since she promised she would take care of the girls no matter what for Dad. However, the company that made them rich was falling apart due to bad lower management and since rich granddad was dead, that made Amanda the one to go in and get it back the way it needed to be. She had no experience in running a huge company like that, but had two friend advisors come along and help her. She didn't want to do it, but friend/advisors assured her taking care of the company would be taking care of the girls because it would be saving all the money for them for later.
Girls end up alone (TG go to the casino all night and sleep all day) and fall into all sort of bad trouble, have to fend for themselves, quit school, just all around yuck. However, all the while, Amanda has been keeping tabs on them. So TG convince them to sue Amanda for all their money when they turn 18 and tell them all sorts of lies about her. When their birthday comes along, Amanda shows up with a free gift of everything, as long as they come live with her and follow her rules (which are really simple). One twin does go, but the other still believes the lies. The twin left behind goes forward with the suit against Amanda, but Amanda has made it clear she is not giving in. It is all free already if only she will come.
After a few more scraps, bumps, and all out catastrophes, other twin does come around and the good guys end up happily ever after.
Quotes that gripped me:
Lizzie, the twin who went with Amanda, explaining about what life was like at the mansion ~
"Kara, I feel like I was in a prison for most of my life, with cruel, greedy people lying to me and making me think that it was my fate to be there. They kept us down, Kara. They controlled us. They made us into people without hope. And it was a life sentence. You're accepting that sentence, Kara, when the doors to that prison are open now. But you won't walk through them. We can go back to the family in the pictures of this photo album. We can know peace and joy."
"On her terms!"
"Yes, on her terms. They're good terms, Kara. I've never felt more free in my life. The whole world is open to me now. I have a hope and a future. Things are happening to me that I never even knew to hope or imagine. For the first time in my life I feel like I'm standing on steady ground. And I feel strong, because it's not just me, Deke and Eloise's tattered granddaughter. I have all of Amanda's resources behind me, and she's there rooting for me and guiding me. It's all about love, Kara. Not money."
~
Less than two days after Kara got married. her husband beat her and threw her in a closet. She found a way to escape, through a window, but it was narrow.
"Gritting my teeth, I slid my feet through the window's opening, then scooted my body down until my rump rested on the sill. It was like being reborn, pushed into a whole new world, frightened and damaged, but I managed to slip the rest of the way out and dropped to the ground."
Amanda’s heart broke as she watched them drive her beloved twins away. She resolved to hope . . . and to fight for them to her last breath. Kara and Lizzie are heiresses to one of the largest fortunes in the country. But when their father dies suddenly, the toddlers are taken from the arms of Amanda, their loving stepmother, and given to relatives who only want the children’s fortune for themselves. Kara and Lizzie grow up questioning their worth . . . until the day when they learn the truth. Intensely involving, emotionally charged, and infused with hope, Covenant Child is an inspiring story that challenges us to embrace the life God holds out to us. (picture and description from amazon)
Here's to happy reading next time around!
O:)
Melissa
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