Sometimes I need a quiet book — a book that I can sink into for warmth and wisdom. That’s what I got with The Divine Proverb of Streusel by Sara Brunsvold. This general fiction novel traces the healing journey of Nikki Werner as she runs away from hurt and doubt to a sense of hope and connection with her past. Nikki’s parents have just divorced, and everything she thought was true about their marriage and her childhood comes crashing down. Faced with decisions about her own future, she runs to her family’s farm where she once felt peace and safety. I loved that Nikki embraced her family’s past in order to make sense of her present and ultimately find a way towards a future. Her uncle Wes and Joyce, a family friend, assist on that journey, as they too struggle with moving forward. One of my favorite parts of this book was the precious notebook Nikki finds filled with old German recipes and wise advice for building a life. It not only fed the hungry at her table, it brought new perspective to Nikki’s life. The book was not written for Nikki, but she found it was indeed a guide to be treasured. There is a lot to like about this novel — endearing characters, a great sense of place, and strong spiritual themes to make the reader ponder. I definitely recommend you read this one.
Recommended.
Audience: Adults.
(Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
Shaken by her parents’ divorce and discouraged by the growing chasm between herself and her serious boyfriend, Nikki Werner seeks solace at her uncle’s farm in a small Missouri hamlet. She’ll spend the summer there, picking up the pieces of her shattered present so she can plan a better future. But what awaits her at the ancestral farm is a past she barely knows.
Among her late grandmother’s belongings, Nikki finds an old notebook filled with handwritten German recipes and wise sayings pulled from the book of Proverbs. With each recipe she makes, she invites locals to the family table to hear their stories about the town’s history, her ancestors–and her estranged father.
What started as a cathartic way to connect to her heritage soon becomes the means through which she learns how the women before her endured–with the help of their cooking prowess. Nikki realizes how delicious streusel with a healthy dollop of faith can serve as a guide to heal wounds of the past.
Sara Brunsvold creates stories that speak hope, truth, and life. Influenced by humble women of God who find his fingerprints in the everyday, she does the same in her life and her storytelling. Sara’s recognitions include the 2020 ACFW Genesis Award for Contemporary Fiction. She lives with her family near Kansas City, Missouri, where she can often be spotted writing at a park or library. Learn more at http://www.sarabrunsvold.com
Tags: general fiction, Sara Brunsvold
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