Inspirational Fiction

STEPHANIE PERRY MOORE

Warner/Walk Worthy Press

0-44667-967-4

June 2003

(4+) Tricia-Anne Blades

PLOT SYNOPSIS: 

Surviving life's setbacks through her relationship with a man who helps restore her faith in God, Zoe Clark discovers "A Lova Like No Otha'." Through life's twists and turns of celebration and sorrow, Zoe ultimately learns what it means to truly trust in God.

REVIEW: 

Stephanie Perry Moore has produced a scintillating novel in  A Lova’ Like No Otha'.    This novel is fast paced and one becomes so involved in the story that it is somewhat impossible to put down - it leaves you panting for more.

Mrs. Moore has not hidden behind the religious rhetoric but through her characters has highlighted the struggles that men and women serving Christ go through.  Pain and disappointment are seen as opportunities to give God the glory, to get closer to Him and to acknowledge that He is the only One who changes our disappointments to His appointments.  He is the One who becomes A Lova’ Like No Otha'. 

Zoe Clarke states: "….my life is just as unclear as that mist.”  This describes the struggle Zoe endures throughout this novel.  A woman who loves God, but because of her relationship with the man of her dreams, sin enters her camp and what should have been the purpose driven life of a believer becomes a cloudy mist of uncertainty and the inability to see what her life has become because of the scales that cover her eyes. Zoe, however, is not left to wallow in this valley of darkness.  Even though pain and disappointment is prominent in her life, her disappointment becomes His appointment in the form of Chase Farr. 

“The glory of young men is their strength…” {Proverbs 20:29a}. This aptly describes Chase Farr.  A mighty man of God, a warrior, one who knows how to give the God he serves all the glory and the praise in spite of the disappointment he may face.  Ms. Moore uses Chase to show us the power that God gives to us as children when we see Him as the Lover of our souls.  The character portrayed by Chase is one of strength.  He is able to “walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh,” to practice the Word of resisting the devil and seeing him flee from you.  His unshakeable faith and tower of strength given to him by God enables Zoe to experience that which is of paramount importance in the life of a believer- GOD MUST BE FIRST!

All the other characters strengthen the novel.  Without Devyn and his unfaithfulness, Zoe could not claim God’s perfect will for her life.  Tasha, best friend but backstabber, was also able to propel Zoe to her destiny, allowing her to recognize that when she needed a friend, the only one she could truly depend on was God.  In life, we all need to be accountable to someone, especially when we are walking with God; there is someone that we must be able to confess our faults to - this came in the form of Shay and Fawn. Without them Zoe could easily have destroyed the most important thing that God had placed in her life. Mrs. Clarke must not be left out. It was her strength in the midst of the storm that clinched it for Zoe, her anchor held in Christ and even in her death she was able to leave Zoe with a nugget of truth.

A LOVA' LIKE NO OTHA' is a reality check for us as Christians.  Read with an open heart it will lead you closer to Christ.  For those who do not have that special bond with Christ, this novel guides you to the reality that indeed; “ The Lord is my Shepherd.

tricia@romanceincolor.net (1st June 2003)