Lullaby

by Jane Orcutt

Click on image to buy from Amazon.com

Click here to buy from www.Chapters.Indigo.ca

What a fantastic novella this is!! This is a must read for every mother and wanna-be mother out there! Lullaby is a book you will definitely want to pass on to your girlfriends! Caution: You will most likely need a box of tissues nearby as you devour the pages of this book. If you were anything like me, you will want to read until you finish this book to the end. Luckily, it is a novella which means it is shorter than a full length novel!

Lullaby is the story of a young girl who finds herself pregnant and alone in a small Texas town. She leaves her hometown and all the sneers and snide comments that follow her like her shadow, and heads to the city where she has decided to give her unborn baby up for adoption. There she meets Nora and Steven who have felt the ache of empty arms for years as they've faced the reality that they will never have a child of their own to love and hold. When they meet Merilee, they fall in love with not only the unborn baby she carries, but the sincere, young mother as well. As tragedy strikes, what will happen to these lives that have become entwined in the short months before the baby's due date? What has God got planned for Nora and Steven's family? Will young Merilee return to her hometown with empty arms and a lonely heart?

The writing is absolutely beautiful in this book. I felt that not a word was wasted. Every word was carefully chosen, weighed, shaken, until it fit perfectly in the sentence. The letters that Merilee wrote in her journal to the baby were heart-wrenching and moving in a way that only a mother writing to her unborn child, with all her hopes, dreams, and desires wrapped up in that little life, can write. The desire and yearning in Merilee's writing shows her unselfish desire for the ultimate best for her baby. Putting aside her own desires to have someone to love her unconditionally, Merilee chooses the hard road for herself, but one that will be best for her unborn child. The sacrificial nature of a girl so young is remarkable, but I have to hope, realistic.

This was truly a lovely book and I definitely recommend it whole heartily!