"Leaving Yesterday" by Kathryn Cushman

This book is refreshingly unpredictable.

Are you as tired as I am of predictable plots and everything ending "happily ever after" in the books you read?  Leaving Yesterday is a breath of fresh air in the world of predictable plots and happily ever afters.  Finally, a book that shows life as it is - full of ups and downs and a "we'll be okay as long as we have God" ending rather than a "picture perfect life after grace".

I had never read Kathryn Cushman before, but I look forward to reading more of her books.  She writes in an easy to read way that will grab your attention from the get-go, and you won't want to put the book down.  I was truly pleased with her unpredictable plot twists and turns - and it's hard for me to not figure out where the story is going long before it gets there most of the time - and enjoyed the storyline.

(From the back cover:) The police car outside triggers Alisa Stewart's worst fear - her son, Kurt, is dead, his life lost forever to addiction.  Instead, the officer is just following a lead on a crime.  And when Kurt calls to say he's checked himself into rehab and found a healing faith, Alisa feels a hope she'd given up on.  It's like her son has been brought back from the dead.  But then the cop returns, asking dark questions about the murder of someone Kurt once knew.  Alisa is terrified.  Her boy is different now.  He's changed and deserves a second chance.  But as his old life refuses to stay buried, Alisa finds herself facing an impossible choice: keep silent and keep her son... or risk everything in a quest for the truth.

That summary truly does not do the book justice.  The story is so deep and has so many real-to-life facets that it will stick with you long after you put the book down.

Thanks to Bethany House Publishers for providing me with this copy to read and review.  Be sure to pick up your copy at your local bookseller today!