The blurb:
Michael Stewart has weathered his share of hardship: a troubled childhood, the loss of his mother, even the degradation of living on the city streets. Now he's raising his teenage daughter, Elizabeth, on his own and doing hte best he can at work and at home. But he's turned his back on his faith -- that is, until the morning Michael and Elizabeth volunteer for a food patnry at their local church.
While storing boxes in the basement, they step through a mysterious door. . .and find themselves in first-century Jerusalem, during the tumultuous last week of Jesus Christ's life. It is a dangerous and violent place, where doing what your heart tells you is right can get you imprisoned -- or worse -- and they are thankful to take refuge with a kind widow. But when they come face-to-face with Judas Iscariot and the condemned Christ himself, Michael realizes that before they can escape Jerusalem, he must experience history's most necessary and shattering heartbreak -- and that pain and loss must happen if Michael is to be set free: to live, love, and reclaim the blessings he has in the present day.
Review:
I would recommend Necessary Heartbreak to a reader with a Christian sympathies. The book turns on the discovery that Michael and Liz have somehow stepped back into time to the last week of Jesus's life. As they travel back in time, Michael and Liz somehow find themselves part of major historical events. As the stories come alive, their reactions to Jesus, the disciples, and their sacrifices and suffering drive the story.
Though the idea behind the book is interesting, the book did not resonate with me. While I found the descriptions of Judas Iscariot and Pontius Pilate interesting characters, the time travelers struck me as self-centered and largely unsympathetic. While the book was not to my personal taste, I would recommend it to someone with an interest in the subject matter and with a more Christian sensibility.
ISBN-10: 1439184232 - Paperback $15.00
Publisher: Gallery; Original edition (March 30, 2010), 256 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.
About the Author:
Michael J. Sullivan is a sports journalist and author whose previous titles include seven sport-themed books for children. In the New York City area, where he lives, he has hosted several sports radio shows and has worked with ESPN and Sporting News. Visit him at www.whentimeforgets.com
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Thank you so much to Sarah and PocketBooks for this review opportunity!
Here is a more detailed review of the book: http://singletitles.com/?p=3802
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