Shades of Morning by Marlo Schalesky

Link to purchase or download the first two chapters on WaterBrook Multnomah

Book Description: When her sister dies unexpectedly and leaves behind a 15-year-old Down syndrome son, Marnie's world comes unhinged---and her past collides with the present. As she struggles to find healing and forgiveness, a man arrives, determined to destroy her. Will she face the consequences of decisions made a decade earlier---or will she run again?


My Review: Shades of Morning is the type of Christian fiction that I usually enjoy. Marnie is a flawed character and a woman of faith. She is imperfect, with a past that has been forgiven. She doesn’t always understand the directions in which God is taking her, but she follows.

Her “avoidance issues” are sometimes comical and her fierce love for Emmett is heartwarming even when she really didn’t want to be his mother. Her experiences in church with Emmett and the looks by the so-perfect couple in front of them were too true-to-life.

I enjoyed most of this touching book very much, but the end left me stunned and cold. Honestly, I wanted to throw the book across the room. Because discussing the details would be a “spoiler”, I will just say that I think it gives the wrong message about Down syndrome and the twist at the end was almost a new-age type of message.

A copy of this book was provided for review by Waterbrook Multnomah.