I’m so grateful for this book. I received Ordinary Grace as a Christmas gift, and I’ll admit that I was skeptical to read it at first. It’s been a REALLY long time since I’ve read a book that rocked my world, and I didn’t want to waste any more time reading something that I would abandon midway.
Ordinary Grace, written by William Kent Krueger, is set in New Bremen, Minnesota in the Summer of 1961. For 13 year-old Frank Drum, the son of a Methodist minister, it’s a summer filled with lies, secrets, and death. When tragedy hits home Frank is thrown from the innocence of youth into an adult world he needs to somehow navigate on his own.
The story is told from Frank’s perspective as an adult decades later. I was worried that the story would be “preachy,” considering that one of the main characters is a minister. There is some talk about God, but Krueger definitely wasn’t heavy-handed. The balance was actually quite nice, since the characters actually do quite a bit of struggling with their faith throughout the course of the novel.
I was sucked into the story from the first chapter. Krueger’s language is beautiful, the story was evenly paced, and the characters and their conflicts were well developed. I actually hugged the book when I finished it, sad that it all had to come to an end. I haven’t done that since Harry Potter.
This is the book I’ve been recommending everyone in my life to read. Now I’m recommending it to you.
Categories: Book Reviews
Alyssa Pierce 
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