My Review of Promises to Keep by Ann Tatlock

Promises to Keep by Ann Tatlock is the story of a mother who has taken her three children to flee from her abusive and alcoholic husband. The story is told by the middle daughter, Roz. After settling into their new home, they arrive home one day to discover an elderly woman sitting and reading a newspaper on their porch. Tillie Monroe and her beloved husband, who recently deceased, built the home and raised their family in it. Tillie's last wish is to die in her home. So, through a series of events, Tillie is allowed to return to her home and live with the Anthony family and is a tremendous God send to them. As Tillie cares for the Anthony children while their mother works, she slowly begins to become a part of their family as she teaches them lessons about life and God.
Soon after Tille moves in, Roz's older brother, Wally, who was beginning to head down a hard road, decides to leave for the military. His mother is heart broken at his departure and Tillie helps her walk through the process of overcoming her grief, having watched her own sons go off to war during her earlier years.
After starting school, Roz meets Mara Nightingale. They soon become best friends and begin to share secrets that are deep in their heart. As the girls discover, some secrets are dangerous and should not be kept. And sometimes what believe to be the desire of heart is nothing more than a fairy tale.
This book kept me interested until the very end. Tatlock does an excellent job of telling the story from the child's perspective and capturing the thought process of a young girl who wants nothing more than her family to be together and happy. In the end, Roz discovers that sometimes you can have family that was not given to you by birth, but that God sends just when you need them.
The drama and suspense of this Christian fiction book are extremely well written. The characters are well developed and very interesting to read about. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a light suspense story. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for my review.