Book Number 12!!

I have been reading Karen Kingsbury for a long time now. I got sucked right into the Baxter family "Redemption" series. I honestly think that is her best series to date!! It delved into some hard issues that many many people face. I know those books made me look at myself more in depth and certainly strengthened my relationship with Christ. 


So, out of the many Baxter family series was born the Flanigan family series. When the Flanigan's first showed up on the scene they were a black family that seemed like they were mostly going to stay in the background. You could tell right away that they were modeled after Karen's very own family. They were friends of the Baxter's. 


Right away though this family took on a life of it's own, and their very own series, and even a few spin off series, were born. 


This family mirrors the Kingsbury's real family in almost every way. The parents have a wonderful marriage, 3 biological children and 3 adopted boys from Haiti, 5 boys and one girl, family life centers around Christ, dad coaches sports and boys are all involved in sports and several of the kids are all involved in Christian theater. At some point the family even went from being black to suddenly being white. I've gotta admit that sort of bothered me.Why the change? Anyways, The relationship between the mom, and the daughter Bailey has always been an important part of their stories. We have gotten  to watch  Bailey, and my guess is Kelsey (KK daughter), grow up through these books. 


Bailey even got her very own spin off series. Which KK has admitted loosely mirrors her own daughter's life. That's even her beautiful daughter on all the covers.  So,  the last book in the Bailey series was released on Wednesday and guess where I was Wednesday night? That's right!! Barnes and Nobles:) Usually I just wait my turn to check these books out from the library, but, I just so happened to have a gift card from Christmas and I really really wanted to find out which boy Bailey ended up marrying :). So yeah...I bought the book. 


I really like KK. Her books are Christ centered and full of scripture. I think she now owns the term "life changing fiction".  I think she has what seems to be a really wonderful family and certainly a gift for writing and being an impact on others!!


I gotta admit though, as much as I like them, her books, for me, have gotten a bit fluffier and I don't know what word I'm looking for here. There are some inconsistencies that are sometimes hard for me reconcile...ie the Flanigan family's race change. Sometimes, through this series (Bailey's), I have felt like she was telling the same story over and over again. It was very reminiscent of Dayne and Katie's story to some degree. Sometimes the books seem rushed and other times they seem to drag out. I can't really explain it other than to say I think she may be cranking out too many books one right after the other lately.  Or maybe I'm just tired of Bailey because she has been the main focus for so long now? I still love her, well them, Karen and Bailey.  I will definitely continue reading the books.  I just hope they go back to being more in tune with what she was writing through the original Baxter family "Redemption" series.  And I can almost guarantee that when the next Baxter book "Coming Home" is released later this year...I will be at Barnes and Noble picking up one of the first copies. I love the Baxter family that much:) I adore the Flanigan family too. I just think we've had way too much of Bailey and it seems a little indulgent on KK's part. 


So I can't comment on this book too much because it is the result of many many books based on the Flanigan family. There is just too much history to share. And I don't want to give too much away in case any one of you decides to read the series. I will say the book made me cry. Most of Karen's books do. The Bailey series also makes me strive to have a better relationship with Maia. Not that we don't have a good one now but there's always room for improvement. And I know there's tough years ahead with the whole teenage thing coming up.  I want Maia and I to enter that stage in the very best possible place. I want Maia to know that she can trust God, and trust me to always be there for her. So that's what I'm taking away from this particular series. The desire to be a better mother to my girl:) To continually pray for her and be her anchor in the storms that are sure to come. To show her kindness and compassion. To always teach her God's words and truths. Those are all pretty great things to take away:)