I very seldom do book reviews here but when I find a book that stays with me even after moving on to other stories, I think it warrants a longer look. Although, it would be considered an inspirational novel with a Christian worldview, it is not preachy in any way. I think most readers would find it to be not only beautifully written but a very thoughtful read on the human condition.
“Not a Sparrow Falls” is the journey of a young woman running from the law and her meth-abusing boyfriend, wishing she could turn back time to the girl she once was. With nothing 
left to lose but her life, she finds that God isn’t through with her yet.
Mary Bridget or Birdie as she calls herself – taking her grandmother’s name for anonymity – is a backwoods Virginia girl trying to restart her life in a new town. She begins working as housekeeper and nanny to a widowed Pastor and his children and finds that she’s not the only one with secrets or a heart crying out for God’s forgiveness and peace.
Alistair’s family is falling apart at the seams, held together by nothing stronger than a veneer of normality. With his church ready to vote him out, a thirteen-year-old daughter desperately seeking attention in all the wrong ways, and two-year-old twins on the verge of neglect, Birdie arrives in their home just in the nick of time. She warms up to the children quickly and they to her, serving up food, sweet smelling sheets and kind words like rain on parched, dry ground. The children begin to thrive and even their father is under the spell of this soft-spoken young woman with an uncanny ability to appear innocent and sound wise at the same time.
God’s plans don’t always include ease and comfort and just when Birdie is beginning to settle into her new home and hope for a brighter future, her past catches up to shake the very foundation of all their lives.
If you’ve ever felt at the end of your rope, hopeless, lost, alone, that God could never forgive you for what you’ve done or become, this is the book for you. Or if you just like books with real depth and well-rounded characters, this is a great read. There are no pat answers or easy fixes for a perfect life, but truth sprinkled throughout.
Linda Nichols is a prolific writer and always manages to take her readers into the true hearts of people; behind their facades, the walls they put up, and the faces they show the world. She delves into places many fear to tread. This is the third novel by Ms. Nichols that I’ve read and I highly recommend it.
Barbara
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