Back in the 70’s, Meg Moseley came from California to Detroit and married our good friend Jon. They lived in Rochester for a number of years. My wife and I read the book together and enjoyed a good read and captivating story.
Here is an interesting review:
“When Sparrows Fall” (Multnomah, 2011) is a well-written, engaging novel by Meg Moseley about a young widow, Miranda, with 6 young children to raise, who is part of and controlled by a strict, patriarchal hierarchy based church and in a sense her late husband, but now she is ready to break free for herself and her 6 children, but that means dealing with secrets of the past and exposing those of the pastor.
After Miranda takes a serious fall, she has to get assistance from a brother-in-law, Jack, that she barely knows, who is from “another world” (more traditional streamline American) and has quite different ideas about life than she and her children are living. She must learn to lean on Jack and let go of her past in order to gain freedom for herself and her children.
Here is the actual synopsis from the back cover of “When Sparrows Fall”:Freedom. Safety. Love. Miranda vows to reclaim them–for herself, and for her children.A widow and mother of six, Miranda Hanford leads a quiet, private life. When the pastor of her close-knit church announces his plans to move the entire congregation to another state, Miranda jumps at the opportunity to dissolve ties with Mason Chandler and his controlling method of ruling his flock. But then Mason threatens to unearth secrets from her past, and Miranda feels trapped, terrified she’ll be unable to protect her children.
College professor Jack Hanford is more than surprised when he gets a call from his estranged sister-in-law’s oldest son, Timothy, informing him that Miranda has taken a serious fall and he has been named legal guardian of her children while she recovers. Quickly charmed by Miranda’s children, Jack brings some much-needed life into the sheltered household. But his constant challenging of the family’s conservative lifestyle makes the recovering mother uneasy and defensive—despite Jack’s unnerving appeal.
As Jack tries to make sense of the mysterious Miranda and the secrets she holds so tightly, Mason’s pressure on her increases. With her emotions stirring and freedom calling, can Miranda find a way to unshackle her family without losing everything?I was given a copy of “When Sparrows Fall” to read for this review. I loved the book. The author wove together the complex storyline so well that it felt seamless. She did a great job keeping me reading and intrigued to find out what all the secrets were that were complicating Miranda & Jack’s and the 6 children’s lives. I found myself empathizing with Miranda then turn around and want to yell “Just tell him (Jack)–he can help you!” I fell in love with each of the children, each with their idiosyncrasies.
In my opinion “When Sparrows Fall” is an excellent book. It is well-written & intriguing. I liked that the book has Christian undertones without it selling a specific religion. In this book you find drama, complexity and a bit of humor and even a smidgen of romance to tie everything all together. I definitely recommend “When Sparrows Fall” to anyone who loves a well written novel that will keep you reading and guessing!
