People of the Book by Kathi Macias
Reviewed by Lori Twichell, Radiant Lit
Genre: religious fiction
Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Publication Dates: April 5, 2011

Farah lives in Saudi Arabia. Devout in her Muslim faith almost to perfection, she plans to use Ramadan to spend her time getting closer to Allah. Nura, her cousin, has been speaking with Sara, an American Christian, thorugh an online chat room and she’s beginning to question her faith. When Farah sees a vision of Isa, (Jesus) she’s haunted by him. Nura can’t stop thinking about the things Sara has shared with her. And in her own world, safe in her faith in the United States, Sara is struggling with her own set of family issues and concerns.

The lives of these three women and the family members around them intersect through the internet, faith and God’s divine appointment in Kathi Macias’ final installment in her Extreme Devotion series. And extreme it is. No light easy read that’s easy to leave behind, Kathi’s incredible depth and vision of faith is sure to leave every reader changed, no matter where they may live.  As I learned early on in reading Kathi’s books, no character is safe. This is more than true in this installment where you have two young women in Saudi Arabia struggling with the concept of Christian faith. Could everything they’ve ever learned really be wrong? Is Isa really the son of God? Can He possibly save the two of them?

I was drawn into this book immediately and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Kathi was going to take me on a journey that would change my perspective of not only my faith, but the world. I’ve read several books from the perspective of women in Saudi Arabia but none that captured the passion and romance of Christ amongst the terror of a life spent in constant hiding and fear.  Kathi’s story linking these three women from completely different worlds and cultures is heart-wrenching, beautiful and stunning. Without whitewashing any details, Macias gracefully handles what could be an easily over the top plot line. Fast moving, detailed enough to be real but tasteful enough to leave out gratuitous gore and violence, Kathi delivers a tale of God’s deep affection and love for all of His children around the world and the way He connects us all.

*Rated R – there’s some violence and disturbing images in this story. It’s emotional, deep and wrenching but beautiful. Read with discretion.

** Review copy provided by the author. Thank you Kathi!