"Be Still My Soul" by Joanne Bischof

ISBN:  978-1-60142-421-1

This book starts out with a young girl named Lonnie Sawyer. She is a very timid and quiet 18 year old living with a father who is abusive both physically and verbally. She has watched her father be abusive to her mother and felt the same rage directed toward herself. She is the oldest of three.

There were many times that Lonnie would take her younger sister to their Aunt's house to get away from the anger of her dad. Her Aunt Sarah introduced Lonnie to the Psalms and the Lord. Lonnie keeps her faith quiet and does not share it verbally. She tries to live it out.

One night a man by the name of Samson asked Lonnie's mother to sing for the town dance. Lonnie's father did not like when men noticed her mother so he was not going to let her sing. However, he did not mind having his daughter do it. Lonnie did not enjoy being in front of people but obeyed her father. After the dance her father goes home drunk and leaves Lonnie and her younger brother to find their way home. Lonnie was ready to go home before her brother. A young man by the name of Gideon Oriley offers to take her home. Lonnie had seen him over the years playing the fiddle in the band and new he had a bad reputation. She felt uncomfortable walking home with him but she had a long walk ahead of her. When they reached her house he joked with her about giving a kiss. She did not think that was appropriate at first but then felt bad so decided she would. Her father sees them and accuses them of more. He forces them to get married.

After getting married Gideon decides that they need to go out on their own and move to a big city. He has plans to get a job and be able to make lots of money. They travel through the mountains on foot for many days.They argued a lot. Gideon did not yet have a relationship with God and was not happy that he had to marry. One day the argument got so heated Gideon was about to hit Lonnie when an older man came out of the woods and threatened him with his gun. He then helps carry Lonnie back to his cabin where his wife was waiting with a warm meal. Lonnie and Gideon end up staying there for months. Through staying there Gideon notices that this couple has faith like Lonnie. Some things from his past come to haunt him, and he realizes that he needs their faith and their God. He starts to fall in love with Lonnie and eventually they have a relationship that pleases God.

I enjoyed this book but would not recommend it to teenage girls. There are a few parts in the book that teenage girls are not ready to read about.

DISCLOSURE: A complimentary copy of Be Still My Soul was provided by Blogging for Books on behalf of the publisher Multnomah and the author to facilitate a honest review. Opinions expressed are solely those of the reviewer. There was no requirement to write a positive review.