Shredded

Shredded: Your Past Does Not Define You by Kimberly Rae
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had no expectations with this book. I received a free copy to review, and all I knew was that the subject involved childhood sexual abuse.

Wow. It knocked my socks off. It is a very deep subject and the author covers it in a beautiful way. I don’t normally like a book with too many point of view characters, because they generally get confusing, but the author handled it well. The chapters flowed gracefully together with the change of characters very easy to follow. And I don’t think she could have told this story from just 1 or 2 perspectives. At least, not told it this well. It’s a Christian story, no doubt, but it’s not preachy or in-your-face. In fact – without giving a spoiler – one of the characters is a brand new Christian and watching her learn what that means is often funny and quite charming.

Jean Louise goes by the name Blue Jean, not because she wears them. People started calling her that because of her “blue” or sad persona. She’s the nondescript single woman at church who rarely says anything to anyone over the age of 12. Until the new pastor – and his handsome brother – move into town. They open the church to a whole new cast of characters. Jean Louise’s safe, orderly, predictable little world is about to get a lot bigger. But can she handle it? Or will her fear from the past keep her from reaching out to help others? Will it keep her trapped in the past?