Karen Kingsbury, Forever

Forever

Karen Kingsbury

Tyndale, Mar 2007, $13.99

ISBN: 1414307640

In Bloomington, Indiana, Katy Hart and renowned actor Dayne Matthews plan for their wedding and his subsequent move from Hollywood to the Midwest. Though he is filming a movie, he flies to Bloomington on weekends to see Katy. After sharing breakfast with his co-star Randy Wells, they leave in separate cars, but the Paparazzi chase them causing a ricochet effect that leads to Dayne ending up in critical condition in a coma.

Katy flies to his side in California while the Baxters pray for a miracle that their oldest recover as he has just been returned to them. That is, all the Baxters except Luke, who, as a legal assistant in New York, detests the newly-found and famous older brother as he has believes he has lost his standing with his siblings and his widower father.

Though the Luke subplot seems off in spite of his resentment ringing true, Karen Kingsbury's fifth Baxter Firstborn family drama is a wonderful contemporary tale. The cast is strong as the family embraces the Lord, praying for a miracle. Though newcomers need to read the previous novels (see FAME, FORGIVEN, FOUND and FAMILY) to fully understand the interrelation dynamics, FOREVER is an inspiring conclusion to a strong saga.

Harriet Klausner