Need You Now by Beth Wiseman

When big-city life threatens the safety of one of their children, Brad and Darlene Henderson move with their three teenagers from Houston to the tiny town of Round Top, Texas.

Adjusting to small-town life is difficult for the kids, especially fifteen-year-old Grace who is coping in a dangerous way.

Married life hasn’t always been bliss, but their strong faith has carried Brad and Darlene through the difficult times. When Darlene takes a job outside the home for the first time in their marriage, the domestic tension rises.

While working with special needs children at her new job, the widowed father of one of the students starts paying more attention to Darlene than is appropriate. Problem is, she feels like someone is listening to her for the first time in a long time.

If Darlene ever needed God . . . it’s now.

Need You Now was a heartwarming story which clearly portrayed the importance of relying on God, maintaining family relationships, and being careful with choosing friends. The plot line of the novel was interesting and flowed smoothly. The storyline involved some events that were not unexpected, and it was interesting and inspiring to see how the characters had to work through their troubles.

The characters were also well developed. Almost all of the characters were constantly growing and discovering more about themselves and about God as the story continued. I especially enjoyed seeing the growth in Darlene and her neighbor Layla and the irony of their flip-flopping roles in each other's lives.

The themes of Need You Now were clearly explored and left the reader with new understandings. One of the topics that was portrayed was the importance of honesty and making time in relationships in order to know what is going in the other's life and grow closer. A few others were forgiveness, being open about how you feel, and relying on God above all else.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel, and I hope that others who read it find it as inspirational and moving as I did.

I received this novel for free from Booksneeze.com and Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for an honest review.