Side by Side #bookreview

Side by Side (New Hope Publishers, April 2015)

In the dusty, Islamic country of Sudan, Mia’s life collides with that of another young woman.

A young Christian American mother, Mia finds more than one dark secret on the streets of Khartoum. She finds Halimah, a young, upper-class Arab student with a bright future in her family’s business whose risky and secretive decision has put her life in danger. What happens when the path of a young mother intersects with that of a spunky Sudanese student? God transforms them both . . . forever.

Part of New Hope® Publishers’ contemporary missional fiction line,Side by Side opens the reader’s eyes to the life of Muslims in Sudan as well as some of the struggles that Christians face when living under Islamic law. The reader will be inspired to pray for those who are persecuted for their faith as well as pray for the salvation of those who persecute.

Jana Kelley is a Texan who hardly ever lives in Texas. Raised in Southeast Asia, Jana developed a love for cross-cultural living early in life. Her love for writing came soon after. Jana returned to Texas to attend college. She and her husband married a month after she graduated and by their second anniversary, they were living in a remote African town. Together with her husband and three boys, Jana enjoys travel and overseas living. After thirteen years in Africa and the Middle East, Jana and her family moved to Southeast Asia where they currently live.

My thoughts of Side by Side:

This is a work of fiction, but this is also a work of truth.  This novel is going to change your life and how you view the Muslims.  It’s also going to bring the Christians who are fighting for their lives in the Sudan more up close and personal to you.

If you can read this book without crying I want to know.  They may be tears of anger or tears of sadness or both, but I think you’re going to cry.  This is a very poignant tale with a deep meaning.

When you are reading this book you totally forget that it’s fiction.  You are there.  This is HAPPENING around you, right now.  The author is a missionary who has traveled extensively and witnessed much which I think is what gives her this edge to her writing.  This is a must read book.  You are not going to look at the world the same any longer.