book review: Same Kind of Different as Me

I tend to be skeptical of both New York Times Bestsellers and Amazing True Stories, both of which tags Same Kind of Different as Me claims. This book is, my skepticism aside, deserving of the compliments.

The prose is exquisitely beautiful. I read some books for their content and some books just because the writing is so excellent--this one has both style and content, making it well-worth the time to read. The opening chapter sucked me in, and I barely put it down until I had finished it.

The story itself was an incredible one. I give the authors some artistic license to make a true story into an interesting novel, but still, the unfolding of events was a powerful display of man's impotence and God's sovereignty.

The racial tension was revealing and humbling, especially for a northerner born in the 1980s--my understanding of racial discrimination did not entirely agree with the descriptions in the book. I appreciated the honest emotions portrayed by both main characters.

Pretty early in the book, I guessed where the story was heading--and I was right. But that did not prevent me from feeling the full emotions and from crying at the climax. It is a beautifully written book that I recommend first as an example of first-class prose, and then as an important story.

I read this book as a member of BookSneeze, a division of Thomas Nelson.

[edit] Bonus Review by Tim Challies [/edit]