Reflective.

So far, Peace Like A River hasn’t been the most interesting read for me.  I’m the type of person that likes suspense and exciting things in many areas of my life.  For example, I LOVE thrill rides like roller coasters.  I will go on any and every one!  My favorite types of movies are also suspense/action films, -like Taken with Liam Neeson.  The only parts of this book that have really excited me and kept me engaged were in the beginning where Enger gives us the scene of Jeremiah “taking care” of Finch and Busca, and when Davy shoots them down.  I like books that are descriptive and give tons of imagery.  The past few chapters have been difficult for me to stay engaged with because much of the information given is just character building, -which is important, but not all that interesting to me.  I’ve found myself numerous times lately realizing I hadn’t been paying any attention whatsoever to what I was reading.  I’ve had to go back and re-read quite a few pages in order to comprehend what was going on.  Overall though, Peace Like A River has been pretty enjoyable.  I love the way the author writes and how even though many times he doesn’t use imagery, he is still somehow very descriptive in his writing in a way that makes you understand what he’s trying to say.  I’m a very visual person in the way I understand things, so when a reader can get through to me without painting a picture in my head, I’m impressed!  I was also really intrigued with Swede’s poetry.  She is such a young character but is incredibly brilliant in her writing (not to mention her vocabulary too).  Reading her writings really helped her character come alive throughout the book.  It helped the reader get inside her head and understand her a little bit better.
    I’ve liked seeing the growth within Reuben throughout all the chapters.  There are little instances here and there such as when he drinks coffee with his father’s (Jeremiah) best friend, that show the reader how he’s growing up and “becoming a man.”  I believe the distance of Davy’s character has helped with that.  Without Reuben having to go through all these troubles and search with his family for Davy, I don’t think he would really be growing as he is in the same way, -if at all.  Davy was the one with all of the responsibility and “manhood” or strength in the house until the whole fiasco went down.  Like it’s said, “God works in mysterious ways” and maybe this whole situation with Davy will end up being a sort of blessing in disguise in the end.  We shall see.