Belonging to Heaven by Gale Sears

Belonging to Heaven by Gale Sears

“Descended from the Hawaiian royal line, Jonathan Napela became one of the first—and most influential—converts to the Church in Hawaii. A man of intelligence, social status, and wealth, he used his considerable position to further the gospel in his native land. He developed a lifelong bond of brotherhood with Elder George Q. Cannon, helping to translate the Book of Mormon into Hawaiian and establish a gathering place for the Hawaiian saints in Laie, Oahu. But when his beloved wife, Kitty, was stricken with leprosy, Jonathan made the defining decision of his life. He would leave his life of privilege to become her caretaker and spend the rest of his life on Molokai, the island of lepers. To those who suffered similar heartbreak and banishment, Jonathan's self-sacrifice became their lifeline. Based on true story, this is an extraordinary novel of a man who chose love in the face of death.” (summary from author’s website)

Gale Sears’s newest historical novel Belonging to Heaven is about George Q. Cannon and his missionary service in Hawaii. While the focus of the book at the beginning lead me to believe that the book would continue to be about George Q. Cannon’s life he kind of drops out at the midpoint and the central character of the novel is revealed to be Jonathan Napala, a Hawaiian saint who helped cannon translate the Book of Mormon into Hawaiian. I enjoyed the story of Jonathan Napala despite the books wandering plot. I could understand if some readers had a hard time sticking with the story because of that, especially if they were not naturally interested in history, but I found the story fascinating and touching. I also loved how Sears wove the Hawaiian culture and language throughout the novel.  It was beautiful. I also loved how well Sears made us feel the connections of the characters to one another.  It is touching to read about how dear the Cannon and the Napala family held one another. I liked seeing how they were able to support one another through their hardships with the letters they shared.  I also loved reading about Jonathan Napala’s friendship with the courageous catholic priest, Father Damien de Veuster. I was brought to tears more than once by the faith, courage, and sacrifice these men showed in serving others in the leper colony. What a refreshing and exemplary example of true brotherhood.  Though, the plot was a bit loose this read was definitely worth the experience.  I can’t help but speculate what era of church history Sears will tackle next.

Visit author's website

Letters in a Jade Dragon Box by Gale Sears

 Letters in a Jade Dragon Box by Gale Sears

Truth. In mainland China from 1949 to 1976, truth is all but eradicated, suppressed and supplanted by the iron will of Mao Tse-tung. Millions of people suffer untold anguish as their history, their culture, and their lives are brought under communist rule. Many flee to Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Letters in the Jade Dragon Box is the story of one such refugee. Chen Wen-shan is sent, as a young girl, from mainland China to live with her great-uncle – a former general in the Nationalist Chinese army who was one of the early converts to the LDS Church in Hong Kong.

At the death of Chairman Mao Tse-tung, fifteen-year-old Wen-shan receives a mysterious wooden box that holds a series of beautiful painting and secret letters that reveal the fate of the family she has not heard from in more than a decade.

These letters shed light on a time and a place where, despite all odds, truth refused to be broken. (jacket flap summary)

So I know this book won a Whitney Award for last year, but really I was just blown away by how well the author pulled this book off. I felt like I could hold this book up to any national market novel in the same genre and subject matter and it would still shine like a gem. This book is so beautiful. The language it uses, the images it provokes, and the heart of its characters touched me deeply on so many levels. It is obvious that the author put a lot of thought and hard work into portraying Chinese culture and history, as its little details are woven seamlessly throughout the novel and make the character’s world seem so real and immediate. Just go read this book now.  I would recommend this novel to everyone.

                                 
Visit Gale Sears Website

Book Review:Upon the Mountains by Gale Sears

Upon the Moutains by Gale Sears

Nephi decides to leave his wife and child to fight in the war in Europe. He feels a duty to take care of his wife and child, and is unable to find work sufficient to support them, and so signs up for the Marines. So, he leaves Utah, Salt Lake, and his family to fight in WWI. The sights of war damage his sensitive soul and he may never return home, and if he does he’ll never be the same man. In Salt Lake his sister-in-law Elanor is discovering her war ground as she studies and finds out about a new flu epidemic. As the only woman in medical school she faces stiff opposition to her place at the medical school except from a few treasured souls. She must face influenza head on as it threatens the life of her family and dear friends.
I picked up this book wondering if it was part of a series, but some basic research didn’t really give me any answers about that. So, I went off and just picked it up. Low and behold it was the third book in a series and the annoying info dumps let me know of this fact as I read through the beginning. Yet, I still read on intrigued by the characters and it was well worth it. This is a very well written war novel that showed many different aspects of the war on the front and on the home front. I especially loved the characterization, which was nicely done especially for the children. They were so cute! The novel is able to stand alone, but I’m pretty sure the ending wasn’t as rewarding for me because I didn’t understand all the back story behind things, and the death of some characters didn’t really affect me all that much, and to add to that a lot of the changes that characters made were kind of meaningless on account of the fact that I didn’t experience the way they were before. Though, most of these instances were in minor plot threads of the book. In spite of this I still enjoyed the characters and the story. I would reccomend because it has been one of the most fresh and high quality historicals I have read for a while.
Author Website: http://www.galesears.com/501.html