Old Friends, New Stories

Departures, By Robin Jones Gunn

A newly discovered manuscript from my favorite series, times two? Yes please! This “two-in-one” can only best be reviewed as two separate stories (though there may be a surprise encounter between our two favorite heroines.)

Now Boarding At Gate 10 (Christy Miller)

This story takes place near the end of the original series; Christy is now 18 and visiting her grandparents in Wisconsin. While there she is reacquainted with her childhood crush, Matthew, and encounters all the emotions and questions that suddenly arise, especially when she discovers that she not only still has feelings for Matthew, but he also harbors feelings for her!

I didn’t like this story as much as I’d hoped, for a few reasons. Mainly, the absence of Todd (my favorite character, of course!). But I also disliked the flighty way Christy seemed to handle her emotions. Not only did she wonder if she was over Todd, but she also thought she had feelings for Doug back in California, at the same time as she was thinking of a future relationship with Matthew! However, while I disliked this aspect of the story, at the same time I appreciated it, and the truth of how flighty and confused emotions can become, especially with matters of the heart. I also disliked the pace the story took; it seemed to go by very quickly, leaving much of the character development lacking.

In The Event Of A Water Landing (Sierra Jensen)

This story takes place before the original Sierra series begins. Sierra is 15 and goes with her friend Jana to spend some of her summer vacation at Jana’s family’s cottage. Sierra’s craving for adventure and the spontaneous is well satisfied as she begins to learn the ups and downs of emotions when it comes to guys. She watches as Jana flits from one crush to another and back again, and Sierra herself finds herself wondering if each gesture of her friends brother and his friend have a deeper meaning then friendship. Sierra and Jana are just beginning to bud on their journey to becoming women, and Sierra seeks God’s wisdom in the situations she finds herself in.

I liked this story better then the Christy one, perhaps because I felt that the situation Christy found herself in seemed redundant for her, after all, hadn’t she found herself in similar situations with Todd and Rick? And again with Doug and Todd? However, with Sierra’s story, I felt that the shallow, fickle ways our emotions could pull us to be well portrayed. As a young girl, just beginning to discover love, Sierra was experiencing something new, where Christy was trotting a familiar path.

Both these stories speak of the fickleness that love can sometimes be, especially in the hands of a young girl trying to discover her way in life. I enjoyed the chance to see a new story from these old friends. Though I would defiantly recommend reading the original series’ before picking up Departures.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review (cool huh? :-)