Filmmakers Chase Ryan and Keith Ellison left the mission field of Indonesia for the mission field of Hollywood with a dream bigger than both of them. Now they have done the impossible: raised enough money to produce a feature film with a message that could change the world.
But as Chase and Keith begin shooting, their well-laid plans begin to unravel. With millions of dollars on the line, they make a desperate attempt to keep the film from falling apart—even as a temperamental actress, a botched production schedule, and their own insecurities leave little room for the creative and spiritual passion that once motivated them. Was God really behind this movie after all? A chance meeting and friendship with John Baxter could bring the encouragement they need to stay on mission and produce a movie that will actually change people’s lives.
My thoughts:
I have been a fan of Karen Kingsbury since the start of her writing career. Her early novels are some of the best that Christian fiction has to offer. More so, her novels featuring the Baxter family pretty much have their own shelf at the bookstore. :o) This new series, Above the Line, still features the Baxter family, but they are no longer in the forefront as they have been in Karen's three sets of series preceeding this one.
What impressed me most about this book was that it dealt with real-life issues: jealousy, peer pressure, alcohol, temptation, etc. I have to say this was a nice change from some of her recent books where everything seems so tidy and everyone has a happy ending. The person that seemed to struggle the most in this book was Andi, the daughter of one of the movie producers. She's grown up the child of missionary parents, and feels that she's always been held to a different standard. She knows what she's been taught from God's Word, but she's reached the time in her life that she wants to experience things for herself, and not shy away from them simply because that's what she's always been told. I really applaud Kingsbury for creating a character that struggled with day-to-day life, and not another one who had a Scripture-verse answer for everything that went wrong. Mind you, those type of characters are not bad, but when you've been around them for the last 14 books of the Baxter saga, anything different is a welcome change.
With all that said, I'm looking forward to the rest of this series. I'm particularly anxious to see what happens between Bailey and Cody and Tim...methinks that little love triangle will be around for awhile. My rating for Take One is 4 Stars.
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