The Sisterhood of the Traveling Book

Several of us signed up for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Book Contest, and our scribe's name was drawn. She was "selected to connect with a special group of sisters and read The Prayer Box early."

The book was written by Lisa Wingate, and five "sisters" share the book. The first name on the list is the Big Sister and received the book first. Our scribe was the second sister, and the book came in the mail the day she left for Comic-Con. Perfect timing.

Much of the fun of reading the book this way is you get to write comments in it. And you get to read the comments the your "older" sisters wrote in it. And sharing those comments and the book.

Our scribe had a 10:30 appointment at the Comic-Con blood drive, took The Prayer Box with her. Was she ever glad she did because she had 3 hours to read it. Yes, it took THREE Hours for them to take her blood. Of course the feeling one gets by helping others is priceless, but THREE HOURS?? .

But the best part, she said, was the book. She said she even got irritated when it was she reached the front of each line (and there were FOUR LINES to wait in to donate blood (and no cute vampires hanging around!) But The Prayer Box was the perfect book for waiting because she really cared about the main character, her children, the dead old lady and even the minor characters.

The swag given to blood donors, and The Prayer Book, by Lisa Wingate

The Prayer Box is set on Cape Hatteras after it was battered by a violent storm. Tandi snatched her two children out of their privileged but seriously constrained life in Dallas and ran as far east as she could, stopping before her hat floated away. Almost literally. She found herself renting a cottage on a big estate that has definitely seen better times. Tandi's parents were horrible parents and Tandi has repeated her mother's life choices several times, and really wants this time to be different. But she's latched on to a guy who seems like a repeat and her kids seem headed on the same path she walked as a child.

When Tandi finally checks on the woman who lives in the big house, she finds her dead body. She's asked to help clear out the perishables and finds a stash of beautiful boxes in which the dead woman had filed the prayers she'd written to her "Father" her whole life long.

The discoveries Tandi makes as she learns about her former landlady, and the lessons she learns from the good people around her, may change her life and those of her children. 

The story flows naturally and there isn't a false note among the characters. We all like the idea of putting prayers on paper as the act of writing helps clarify and concentrate one's thoughts.

There are some good lines in it, too. This one reminds me of the things my southern grandmother used to say, "You can dress a toad in lace, but the minute you let it go, it will still poop on the porch."

We wish we could see the book again after the other three sisters have a chance to read it.

And for those of you bag fans, the other side of the Warner Brothers bag in the photo is the Supernatural Hunter Checklist one. The blood drive gave her a Classic 60's Batman bag, but she traded it to a guy for the Supernatural one. He really wanted the Arrow one, and thought Batman made better trading material.

Gotta love the Con!