"More Than Enough" (2019) - Book Review
MY REVIEW
Series:
The Mosaic Collection (Book 5)
Paperback:
249 pages
Publisher:
Feather House Press (December 13, 2019)
Language:
English
ISBN-10:
1734195401
ISBN-13:
978-1734195408
[Click photo to purchase book]
[Click photo to purchase book]
“Quirky Fiona
McGrath loves her job as a Child Life Specialist at a Dunedin, Florida
hospital. As a former foster child, she understands trauma and wants to ensure
no child ever faces the same kind of fears she once did. But are fears truly in
the past? Gabe Cavenaugh’s life is right on schedule. As the youngest assistant
Chief Financial Officer in the hospital’s history, he has much to prove, but
he’s confident he can do anything he’s asked. After all, he’s secure in his
faith and has the constant support of his family.
When Gabe is directed to make
cuts in order to balance the hospital’s budget, his search leads him to the
Child Life Program and to Fiona. How can this crazy, hat-wearing woman, who
rides around on a sparkly scooter possibly be a vital member of the medical
team? As Fiona works to persuade Gabe about her job’s necessity, he begins to
see there’s more to her and her work with young patients than wacky clothes.
But will she be enough to save her program? And could she possibly be enough
for a man like Gabe?”
Thank you in advance to JustRead and the
publisher for providing a complimentary copy to review. All words are my own in
this review and a positive review was not required.
This is my second read of The Mosaic Collection
and my first by the author.
What starts out as a quirky read with a sad
tale – fun program facing a shutdown due to no funds – turns into a beautifully
written, charming, and unique read with intermittent moments of humor.
As my mother worked in a hospital for 25+
years, so this was a realistic read with regard to corrupt hospital officials, budget
shortfalls, budget cuts, and staff sentimentality for certain programs. I could’ve
easily seen this story-line (with almost any department) happening where my mom
worked.
Using Fiona’s own heart-breaking past, Seilstad
combines family drama to highlight what drives Fiona and her defense of her
department in a realistic way. Her own childhood scars has given her insight
into what kids in a hospital and traumatic situations need to stay calm on
focus on treatment.
Seilstad puts a gut-punching reality into this
story. Her writing style flowed so natural that it was difficult to put it
down. To be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure about this book in the beginning. The
premise sounded adorable, but at first I was standoffish. But, I ended up
reading this in one sitting. That is RARE. I haven’t done that in almost 15-20
years.
There were also a few smaller stories going on
here – Fiona and Gabe’s romance, Fiona helping some foster kids adjust, and
Fiona’s own family drama. The writer also added a touch of suspense to it with
Fiona’s sister and the hospital corruption. So, this is a well-rounded story.
Fiona and Gabe’s relationship did seem to move
a bit fast given he was only supposed to shadow her for five (5) days. Then again,
this is a “light-hearted”, inspirational read.
Fiona’s character was very well developed so
that she could’ve been someone my mom would’ve worked with.
Gabe’s personality was slightly “lighter” than
the normal hospital management I’ve been around. However, he was a welcome
addition.
The other characters were realistic in their support roles and what they were in the story.
I also enjoyed how the writer balanced the two
types of family against each other – Fiona’s “chaotic” and “imperfect” against
Gabe’s “calm perfection”. The quote that Fiona’s foster mom had used is perfect
for this novel – “family aren’t like socks, they don’t have to match”.
This was a bit lighter on the faith than other
books I have read. But, that was all right by me.
The author also did a great job in piquing my
interesting into the role of a Child Life Specialist (CLS).
As mentioned above, my mother had worked at the
county hospital for 25+ years and I really hadn’t heard of a CLS. After reading
about Fiona, I wanted to find out more about the job and learned that it
started around the 1960’s in the U.S and Canada.
This was a time when it wasn’t uncommon for
parents to be excluded from hospital visitation except perhaps on weekends.
This history would’ve been a very interesting fact for Fiona to reveal to Gabe
as to how crucial the program is and how it got started.
Despite a few minor issues, I was pleasantly
satisfied with this novel which reminds all of us – broken and those who seem
to have it together – we are more than enough.
RATING:
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ –
Goodreads
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐–
Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lorna Seilstad writes multi-layered stories
which contain a generous dash of humor. She is the author of the Lake
Manawa Summers series and Gregory Sisters series
(Revell) and has stories included in several novella collections. She was a
Carol Award finalist in historical romance, but today writes both historical
and contemporary stories. When she’s not eating chocolate, she enjoys doing
flowers for weddings, teaching Bible classes, researching history, baking
cookies, and working with her 4-H club. She and her husband live in Iowa with
their three adult children living nearby.
She can be found on the following social media
accounts:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LornaSeilstad
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