FICTION

Don't Tell a Soul

Dafina: Kensington. 2013. 265p. ISBN 9780758280572. pap. $14; ebk. ISBN 9780758280596. CF
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The ladies of Sister to Sister ministry at Cleveland's New Faith church deal with demons in their personal lives but still find time to pull outcasts into God's embrace. Pam, Yvonne, and Taylor are narrators of alternating chapters about their personal dramas involving deadbeat fathers, possessive males, sons acting out at school, and home wreckers stealing their men. Still this is a tale of redemption personified by Eva, a porn star who wants out of the industry and turns to New Faith as a safe haven. The ministry steps up to help, but when Eva's past life as X-Stacy in full color on DVD becomes known, the ladies question their beliefs. Will the Sisters realize their own scandalous pasts aren't that different from Eva's issues? When all else fails, one Sister preaches, "Ain't nothing wrong with being greedy over God."
VERDICT Warren's (The Bishop's Daughter) fast-paced story is all about the church. The novel's hard edge is interrupted by several Bible quotes, but the Sisters can delightfully slide into trash talk and are not shy laying down snappy insults. The heavy theme of redemption and authentic characters battling unfortunate decisions will reward readers of African American inspirational tales.
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