Recently, I was asked to read and review White Picket Fences by Susan Meissner. The following summary piqued my interest: “The Janviers have the idyllic life – a beautiful home, great jobs, two wonderful kids – and surrounding it all is the proverbial white picket fence that protects them, offers them a serene sense of security… and hides all their secrets.”

I really enjoyed this author’s style which included enough characters, story lines, and believable events to hold my interest. In particular, because I’ve come to love history, I appreciated how the author wove events of the Holocaust into the story. This is a wonderfully insightful story about the human condition, the cost of keeping secrets, and dealing with trauma.

I’ve been around long enough to know that everyone has a proverbial “white picket fence” so as I was reading this book a month ago, I couldn’t help but wonder what might be hidden behind the “white picket fences” of people in our sphere of friends, family, and acquaintances which caused me to begin to pray that things hidden behind “white picket fences” would be revealed and dealt with so healing could take place. Yea. Next time I’ll be more careful what I pray because, unfortunately (or maybe it is fortunate), shortly after that some “white picket fences” began to fall and what’s behind them hasn’t been pretty.

Publisher’s Review: Amanda Janvier’s idyllic home seems the perfect place for her niece Tally to stay while her vagabond brother is in Europe, but the white picket fence life Amanda wants to provide is a mere illusion. Amanda’s husband Neil refuses to admit their teenage son Chase, is haunted by the horrific fire he survived when he was four, and their marriage is crumbling while each looks the other way.

Tally and Chase bond as they interview two Holocaust survivors for a sociology project, and become startlingly aware that the whole family is grappling with hidden secrets, with the echoes of the past, and with the realization that ignoring tragic situations won’t make them go away.

Readers of emotional dramas that are willing to explore the lies that families tell each other for protection and comfort will love White Picket Fences. The novel is ideal for those who appreciate exploring questions like: what type of honesty do children need from their parents, or how can one move beyond a past that isn’t acknowledged or understood? Is there hope and forgiveness for the tragedies of our past and a way to abundant grace?

Author Bio: Susan Meissner cannot remember a time when she wasn’t driven to put her thoughts down on paper. Her novel The Shape of Mercy was a Publishers Weekly pick for best religious fiction of 2008 and a Christian Book Award finalist. Susan and her husband live in Southern California, where he is a pastor and a chaplain in the Air Force Reserves. They are the parents of four grown children.

GIVEAWAY: WaterBrook Press has generously provided one copy of this book for me to give away here on the blog. If you’d like to enter the drawing, simply leave a comment. I’ll notify the winner in a week or so.  Robin won this giveaway.

Disclaimer: This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.