I really, really, really, really liked Carre Armstrong Gardner’s “All Right Here,” a Darling Family novel.
It tells the story of the Darling and Mason families. Ivy Darling, who has a fun-loving eclectic family, is married to Nick Mason, whose family is a little more shallow and self-absorbed and condescending. As a matter of fact, Ivy loves her family so much, she even kept her maiden name after marrying Nick.
Due to past mistakes, Ivy and Nick cannot have their own biological children. But after sad circumstances, they are able to take in and foster the three neighbor children. Ivy quickly falls in love with DeShaun, Jada and Hammer, but Nick is a harder sell.
As Ivy’s relationship with the children quickly grows, her relationship with Nick quickly grows further and further apart.
“All Right Here” is a lovely tale of forgiveness, redemption, acceptance and honesty. It is raw and gritty at times, tackling hard issues like trust, child abandonment, the foster system, infidelity, and alcohol and drug dependency. It encourages each of us to step up and do what we can for others. You will laugh one minute and cry the next.
My only complaint? I have to wait until the fall of 2015 to read the next chapter in this “darling” family’s life!
Five stars out of five.
Tyndale House Publishers provided this complimentary copy for my honest, unbiased review.