Book Review: Amy Inspired

9 Dec
With rejections piling up, she could use just a little inspiration…
Amy Gallagher, aspiring writer, has an unabashed obsession with words. She gave up a steady, albeit unexciting, job to pursue a life of writing. However, two years and one master’s degree later, she finds herself almost exactly right back where she started. Discouraged by the growing pile of rejections from publishers and afraid that she has settled, Amy knows something has to change.

Then she meets the mysterious, attractive, and unavailable Eli. Amy finds herself struggling to walk the fine line between friendship and something more with Eli, even as she tries to cope with the feeling that her friends and family are moving on without her. When the unexpected begins pouring in, Amy doubts the love and fulfillment she seeks will ever come her way. Forced to take a close look at who she has become, the state of her faith, and her aspirations for her life, she must make a choice: play it safe yet again or finally find the courage to follow her dreams.

After completing a master’s in Creative Writing and working as a visiting instructor at Miami University in Ohio, Bethany Pierce now lives with her husband in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she is a  member of the McGuffey Art Center and continues to write. Her first book, Feeling for Bones, was one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2007.

 

Q&A with Bethany Pierce

 

My Impressions:

At first, Amy Inspired seemed like a fun, tongue-in-cheek look at a young aspiring writer’s life. Told in the first person, Amy is wonderfully witty and ironic in describing her creative writing students, her family and herself.  But at the half way point, after the retelling of her friend Eli’s life history, the story takes on a new tone.  No longer is the view a superficial one, but an in depth look at what shapes us — our childhood, our family, our experiences, hurts and disappointments.

Soon to be 30, Amy Gallagher is a writer, a teacher and a Christian seeking to be a published writer, an inspiring teacher and a good Christian.  A rather conventional person, Amy surrounds herself with those on the edge or outside of the life she envisions.  Zoe, the startlingly dressed roommate, Eli, the unconventional house guest, Lonnie, the lovestruck and science-fiction loving student all exasperate and intrigue Amy.  Add the personalities of her family, and Amy is faced with discovering who she truly is.

I found Amy Inspired to be at times highly amusing, with some laugh out loud moments.  I also found it touching and poignant.  And like Amy, I found myself engaging in the shifting roles and feelings of the characters.  Not typical chick-lit, Amy Inspired will inspire the reader to rethink who she truly is.

Recommended.

 

(I received Amy Inspired from Bethany House Publishers.  The opinions expressed are mine alone.)

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