God has brought some new things into my life lately to mingle with the familiar. Summer has its regular joys; grassy fields, nephews and nieces playing in the sunshine, pressing flowers in my heavy Jane Austen anthology. Mixed in have been fresh experiences; I’ve been attending a new church, and added a few lovely friends and faces to my life. One of them mentioned an author I’ve never read before and graciously loaned me their copy of Suncatchers by Jamie Langston Turner. It felt fitting that yesterday morning I stopped on my way to work and meandered the shallows of a little pond I’d never explored, in all my years of driving past. Now I can share multiple new perspectives with you!

Suncatchers is not fast-paced; it’s not gripping, exactly, although it’s memorable. It’s the kind of book you might choose on a slow, hot afternoon, stretched out on a porch swing. One of its best attributes, while also possibly being its biggest flaw, is that the story meanders a lot while very little actually happens. I know that may not seem to be much of an endorsement, but I think you have to be in the right mood to appreciate Suncatchers, and if you are– it is sincerely worthy of your time!

Set in a fairly contemporary South Carolina town, the book is about a young writer named Perry Warren. Following a painful separation from his wife and son, Perry moves into a new neighborhood and meets a Christian family next door– widowed music teacher Jewel, along with her elderly mother Eldeen and son Joe Leonard. The situation feels a bit unlikely, but grandmotherly Eldeen takes Perry under her wing. Over time Perry warms to them all, even as he internally criticizes their faith, theology, and simple lifestyle.

Eldeen is really the star of the book. The author did a wonderful job bringing almost all of the characters to life– she knows small town churches well, and pokes (good humored) fun at the many personalities you come across– lovable, but all with recognizable quirks that feel deeply relatable. Eldeen shines brighter than all the rest, however. She is honestly one of the most vivid characters I have ever read– when I think about her, it’s almost as if I am recalling a real person.

You might not think she deserves a second paragraph, but truly, I have to say more about Eldeen. She is every oddball characteristic you have ever seen in a grandma, all wrapped around a heart that genuinely wants to lead people to Jesus. When she’s introduced, she is sitting in her living room with her feet wrapped up in some ridiculous contraption– I think it was lard and plastic baggies inside rubber boots– because she heard somewhere it would help alleviate her cold feet. Her train of conversation goes off the rails incessantly, and she laughs hysterically at her own stories. Like any self-respecting eccentric grandma, she has an adorable-yet-goofy hobby of embroidering pillowcases with sheep. At times, I found her long, winding stories and exaggerated oddities annoying– and yet, that only made her feel more authentic. Don’t we all find the people we deeply love a bit aggravating now and then?

While I wished there could have been a little more to the overarching plot, and that I could hit Perry over the head with his own book once or twice (his internal thought process was downright nutty at times), I was superbly pleased with the ending. Once or twice I suspected the storyline was going a direction I wouldn’t have been happy with, but when the finale did come it was everything I hoped. Suncatchers also examines closely what Christianity looks like to someone who has never been in a church setting before. It points out how alien some of our habits and customs must appear to the unsaved, as Perry scrutinizes the church Eldeen attends. I think it would be difficult to walk away from this novel without deepening your compassion for those who need Christ, and being encouraged to reach out with simple kindnesses to those around you. I could give it 4/5 stars for those qualities alone, among others I appreciate.

What is something new in the customary rhythm of your life? Will it be this book? Or has anything else lovely and fresh come your way? I’d love to hear your thoughts!