Counting miracles by Nicholas Sparks

Three lives are drawn together in the little town of Asheboro: Tanner, the highly trained ex-military agent searching for his biological father, Kaitlyn the attractive doctor and divorced parent of Casey and Mitch, and Jasper the reclusive burn-scarred old man living alone in his cabin. Gradually the threads draw together, romance brews, and a mystery is solved.

The writing is unadorned, and the plot predictable. There seems to be a lot of ‘filler’ episodes, memories and other bits and pieces, which really don’t add anything of value, as though to bulk out what would otherwise be a much shorter story; it is slow reading and the pace only picks up towards the end.

Jasper draws on Bible readings to guide his life. Basically if you know the story of Job in the Bible, the good and devout man stripped of everything he holds dear to test his faith, you have the story of Jasper. Thrown into the mix is a beautiful white deer, a symbol of spirituality, that haunts the forest, and that Jasper is determined to protect. It leads to much suffering for him, but the reward is there in the end.

This is definitely a ‘feel-good’ story which would appeal to readers who ascribe to the Christian faith, and who enjoy moral stories with a little bit of romance and mystery thrown in.

Themes: Bible story, Christianity, Moral values, Family, Romance, Mystery.

Helen Eddy