I just finished reading Zora and Nicky and Finding Stefanie and had already read Beyond the Night, so I wanted to give you my favorite pick in the Contemporary Romance Christy Award nominees category. I have to admit that although the winner was Beyond the Night and it was an excellent book, it is not my personal first pick. I would pick Zora and Nicky: A Novel in Black and White by Claudia Mair Burney, with Finding Stephanie as a close second. By the way, you can still enter to win these and all the Christy Award Nominees here.
Zora and Nicky is a pretty challenging read in the sense that it brings to light some pretty intense stuff. Stuff like racism and conformity and the feeling of aloneness that can come right in the middle of a big "perfect looking" church. Reading it may make you squirm, but it will also make you think and warm your heart with the intensity of the relationship between Zora and Nicky. Nicky's thought especially made me blush sometimes, but I so related to the feelings of both characters as they fought to come out from under a world of expectations and public "Christian" image. Pretty heavy stuff. But definately worth reading! Just to warn you, the 'n' word is used a few times.
Finding Stefanie was also good and spoke to my heart about the pain of losing sight that God sees us 
as His Beloved no matter how successful we are in the world's eyes.
All three are great books!
Thank you for your reviews. I like knowing what others think of books so I can decide what order to buy them in.
Posted by: Jennifer | July 13, 2009 at 01:07 PM
Tami, I was glad to see your review of Zora and Nicky, because I've had it on my reading list for a good while.
Posted by: Carole | July 14, 2009 at 08:03 AM