Summer, by Karen Kingsbury, continues the story of the Baxter family begun something like ten books ago in the Redemption series (with Gary Smalley), continued through the Firstborn series, ending now with the Sunrise series. I believe there are two more books coming to finish out the Baxter saga.

Even with all of the past history, though, I think you could read any of the books or series and get much from them without having to start at the beginning. I think you’d get a lot more out of it by reading from the beginning, but you can get the gist of the pertinent background in each book enough to know what’s going on.

In this book, the storylines set up in the last book continue. Dayne, the A-list Hollywood actor, the oldest Baxter son who was just recently reunited with his birth family, married small town girl Katy Hart at the end of the last book. They are starring in a film together, but find it is not as idyllic as they thought it would be. Plus they agreed to let a reality show follow them around, thinking it would satisfy the public and keep the paparazzi at bay, but since these shows thrive on conflict, much is made of little incidents and innuendos are conjured up. So with all the other newlywed adjustments, Dayne and Katy have multiple other tensions to deal with.

Kari and Ashley are sisters who find out they are adding to their families at the same time, and to top it off, they are both expecting girls, and they dream of tea parties, first days of school, etc. But an ultrasound reveals a problem with one baby, resulting in stress and tension not only for both mothers, but for the whole Baxter family.

The Flannigan family has been intertwined with the Baxters in various ways, and daughter Bailey struggles with growing feelings for Cody, a troubled teen her parents took in to try to help who is now turning his life around, yet faces the tension of wondering how he feels, knowing she’s too young and her parents want them to just be friends, wondering if he is stable, knowing he is planning to go into the military, and probably Iraq, in a few short months.

Then there is tension brewing with the future of the Christian Kids Theater and patriarch John Baxter’s growing feelings for Elaine and his concerns about how his family might deal with his relationship.

Did you notice I used tension in every paragraph? This is probably one of the most tense novels I have read in a long time, but I believe it is one of Karen Kingsbury’s best. There are lighter moments throughout, of course. All of the storylines and characters and situations and struggles are very real and easily related to: even though most of us don’t know a Hollywood actor, we can empathize with the strain on Dayne’s marriage.

Though I don’t want to give away the outcome of any of it and spoil the story for those who haven’t read it, I have to say I really appreciated the way the pregnancy problems were handled, balancing praying and hoping for a miracle with preparing mentally, emotionally, and spiritually for the worst.

I saw this a while back at Jen’s, Susanne’s, and Alice’s (and maybe a few other places that I can’t remember). I’m always up for a good book meme, though it did take me a while to find the time to sit down and think through this one.

What are you reading right now?

The Princess Bride by Samuel Morgenstern, abridged by William Goldman, and Cassidy by Lori Wick.

Do you have any idea what you’ll read when you’re done with that?

Probably Spirit of the Rainforest: A Yanomamo Shaman’s Story by Mark Ritchie, recommended by Jungle Mom, or one of the others on my summer reading list on my sidebar.

What magazines do you have in your bathroom right now?

Family Fun, Romantic Homes, Frontline, (put out by the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship), Answers (put out by Answers in Genesis), Reader’s Digest.

What’s the worst thing you were ever forced to read?

I don’t remember if I was forced to read it, but I hated Lord of the Flies. I think I read it as a teen-ager.

What’s the one book you always recommend to just about everyone?

Besides the Bible, of course, I most often recommend Daily Light for the Daily Path (devotional book) and Climbing by Rosalind Goforth. Newer books I have recommended a lot in the past year are Queen of the Castle: 52 Weeks of Encouragement for the Uninspired, Domestically Challenged or Just Plain Tired Homemaker by Lynn Bowen Walker and The Restorer by Sharon Hinck. I’d recommend almost anything I’ve read, a lot of which you can find here.

Admit it, the librarians at your library know you on a first name basis, don’t they?

Not really. I read a lot of Christian fiction, but our library isn’t current with it, so I buy it and pass it on to my mother-in-law. Getting double duty out of books that way, plus frequent coupons, helps offset the cost. Now, when my kids were little and we went to the regular library programs for kids plus regularly checked out our own books, we knew the librarians pretty well.

Is there a book you absolutely love, but for some reason, people never think it sounds interesting, or maybe they read it and don’t like it at all?

Not that I remember specifically. I think some people don’t think they’d like the older missionary classics that I often refer to and quote from because of the older language and situations, but I would hope they’d give them a chance.

Do you read books while you do other things?

Sometimes. Funny, the Booking Through Thursday question today asked the same thing. I always take a book with me when I have any kind of a waiting time and when traveling. I keep a book in each bathroom. 🙂 If I am really into an exciting part in a book I will have it in the kitchen with me and read in between tasks while preparing dinner. Sometimes I’ll read while someone else is watching TV.

When you were little, did other children tease you about your reading habits?

No — it wasn’t really thought odd. Reading was strongly promoted at my elementary school.

What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down?

Usually if I read in the evenings I get sleepy. I do remember staying up pretty late not too long ago because I didn’t want to put the book I was in down — but I don’t remember what it was.

Let me know if you do this and I’ll come and read your answers.

(Graphic courtesy of the stock.xchng)

The Booking Through Thursday question for this week is:

Okay, so the other day, a friend was commenting on my monthly reading list and asked when I found the time to read. In the ensuing discussion, she described herself as a “goldilocks” when it comes to reading–she needs to have everything juuuuuust right to be able to focus. This caught my attention because, first, I thought that was a charming way of describing the condition, but, two, while we’ve talked about our reading habits, this is an interesting wrinkle. I’d never really thought about it that way.

So, this is my question to you–are you a Goldilocks kind of reader?
Do you need the light just right, the background noise just so loud but not too loud, the chair just right, the distractions at a minimum?

Or can you open a book at any time and dip right in, whether it’s for twenty seconds, while waiting for the kettle to boil, or indefinitely, like while waiting interminably at the hospital–as long as the book is open in front of your nose, you’re happy to read?

I’m more of a “Goldilocks” reader with non-fiction: I’m less able to concentrate or get anything out of it if there are distractions. But most fiction “grabs” me enough that I can read it in different conditions and with a certain amount of background noise. That’s one reason I love to bring a book to waiting rooms and such: reading is not only a pleasant way to pass the time, but it distracts me and helps me not to feel as nervous.