Catholic Company Book Review: Life Entwined with Lily's

Life Entwined with  Lily's 

About the Book:

A dark day in Beth Lovely's past casts a mournful shadow over her entire future. And although Beth has revealed her unspeakable secret to no one, her Aunt Lily is unwittingly responsible for a resuscitating breath of new hope. And so comes an unpredictable and satisfying conclusion to a trilogy that chronicles Lily's impact on three generations of family.

My Comments:

This is the third book in the Lily trilogy.  I loved the first one (Until Lilly)  and liked the second (Wherever Lily Goes).  I'd put this one in the "really liked" category.  

This book starts with Lily, a woman with Down's syndrome, dying.  She's in her mid-fifties and has had a stroke.  She never regains consciousness during the entire books so the part she plays in it is through family memories and how the family deals with her impending death.  

The main character in this book, as noted above, is Beth, Lily's niece.  Lily has lived with her since not long after her (Lily's) husband died (yes, Lily married).  Beth was the troubled teen in Wherever Lily Goes.  This is the story of exactly how troubled she was, how she still carries guilt from those days, and how she finally finds peace.  It is very much the story of her spiritual life and as such religion, in particular, Catholicism, is a very important and prominent part of the book.  I think the only sacrament that didn't get mentioned was Confirmation (and maybe I just forgot about it).   

Why "really liked", rather than "loved"? To me some of the plot twists just turned out to be too much.  There aren't any of them that are unbelievable on their own, but the combination of all of them just made me think Sherry Boas was more interested in making certain points than in telling a realistic story.  The main point she made and made well is that Lily, born with Down's syndrome to a single mother in the early 21st century, Lily, who would have been aborted if her mother had done what most moms do, Lily was the means to salvation, both heavenly and earthly, for this family.  Grade:  B+

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Life Entwined with Lily's . They are also a great source for a baptism gifts or first communion gifts.