Catching Moondrops by Jennifer Erin Valent {review}

I had the pleasure of receiving an ARC copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishers. I haven't yet had the pleasure of reading the author's other books, Fireflies in December and Cottonwood Whispers, but after reading and highly enjoying Catching Moondrops, I am going to definitely check it out!

{Description from Tyndale}: Jessilyn Lassiter no longer has to convince people she’s not a child. Having just turned 19 in the summer of 1938, her love for Luke Talley has never been more real. And Luke is finally beginning to care for her in the way she’s always dreamed of. But their budding romance is interrupted when Tal Pritchett—a young, black doctor—comes to Calloway, stealing the heart of Jessilyn’s best friend, Gemma, and stirring up the racial prejudice that has been simmering just beneath the town’s surface. The tension starts to bubble over when Jessie’s elderly neighbor Miss Cleta becomes the first white townsperson to accept Tal’s treatment. And when a young black man is lynched, Calloway is brought to its knees once again as Jessilyn realizes that her anger can make her heart as full of hate as the klan members who have terrorized her town and her family.

Catching Moondrops is filled with characters, whom from the beginning, are easy to fall in love with. Jessilyn and Gemma are the unlikeliest of friends in this novel set in Calloway, Virginia,1938. Being that Jessilyn is white and Gemma is African American, most of the townspeople look down upon this type of friendship, but the girls do not care. They have been friends for as long as they can remember and once tragedy struck Gemma's family, their friendship became even stronger.


The two girls are forced to face even more tragedy and loss as the story unfolds, but in the midst of it all, they find forgiveness, forever friendships, and love everlasting!


I loved this story and think the author painted a beautiful picture of love for one another, despite our differences. She talks about the love of Jesus Christ and how, even though we are sinners, he loves and forgives us as well.


Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

"My Daddy says the moon fills up a little more every day until it just gets too full and starts to spill out. Then those moondrops fall to earth until the moon disappears altogether and has to fill up all over again. And if you're lucky enough, you'll catch one of those moondrops, because moondrops can make you see the whole world brighter." ~ pg. 65


"I'd grown quite fond of the wind since Miss Cleta had taught me the secrets of it. 'It's the breath of God, Jessilyn,' she'd say, lifting her face to greet it. 'Just listen to it talkin' to your soul.'". ~ pg. 74


"You're right, baby, there ain't nothin' like seein' a man hangin' dead from a tree, all beaten and bruised. You're right, that don't leave you the same. That's what I've been tellin' you for all these years. The day I realized that's just what my sin did to Jesus Christ didn't leave me the same neither. Jessie, you think on that. That's all I ask is that you think on what I'm sayin'. Right now you're feelin' like you'll never heal. Right now you're all full of anger and sadness. And right now's when you need to think more about what I'm sayin' because there ain't nothin' none of us can do to help you. Not even you can help you. You need help from somewhere that you refuse to turn to. But, Baby, whenever you're tempted to think of Noah hangin' from that tree, you think of Jesus there. You think of that, because He did all that willingly, and He did all that for you. Noah Jarvis knew that, and if you want to make his death worth somethin' , then you do what I'm tellin' you." ~ pgs. 164-165

I really hope you conider to get a copy of this book. You will not be disappointed!

{Thanks again to Tyndale House Publishers for providing me with a ARC copy to read and enjoy!}


But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ~ Romans 5:8