BOOK REVIEW | Faking Grace
By Laura on Oct 22, 2008 in Chick Lit
FAKING GRACE
by Tamara Leigh
Maizy Grace Stewart needs a second job to pay the bills. Her job at a Nashville newspaper didn’t result in a full time position, and now Maizy’s savings are gone. So she applies at Steeple Side Christian Resources. Only problem is, Steeple Side only hires committed Christians. So Maizy changes her name to Grace, starts toting Jesus-themed accessories, and learning “Christian Speak” with the help of the Dumb Blondes Guide to Christianity.
Maizy is hired at Steeple Side, but the senior editor there, Jack Prentiss, seems determined to prove that Maizy is a fraud. Which she is. So she sets out to fool Jack and keep her job by attending a church and actually buying a Bible.
When Maizy’s boss at the Nashville newspaper wants Maizy to investigate—and expose—and skeletons in Steeple Side’s closet, along with the assignment comes a cushy increase in salary and Maizy’s dream job. Only problem is, Maizy has begun to care about her co-workers at Steeple Side. Will Maizy deliver the dirt or lean on her new-found faith and pray for grace?
I have read Ms. Leigh’s previous books, but FAKING GRACE is hands down my favorite. Quirky and lighthearted, with Christianity unabashedly woven throughout, and deliciously developed characters that I wished could walk out of the pages and into my life.
Maizy Grace is delightful, and I couldn’t help but pull for her as she struggles to make sense of the life, situation, and people that God placed in her life. And the secondary characters are very well rounded, making this book come alive. Don’t miss FAKING GRACE. $12.99. 400 pages.
Reviewed by Laura Hilton
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This is one that I’m really looking forward to reading. I also want to read Splitting Harriet, but I haven’t gotten my hands on it yet.
MJ | Sep 1, 2008 | Reply
“Faking Grace” by Tamara Leigh
What do you do when you’re new to an area (you’ve moved because your last job ended very badly after you became personally involved in an investigative report and cost the paper the headline), in desperate need of a job and the only one you can find is at a Christian publishing house where they expect employees to be Christian? The main problem being you don’t really consider yourself a Christian? You “fake” it. That’s the basic premise of this book and hence the title.
Maizy is smack in the middle of this scenario. She has a part time job at a “real” newspaper but needs a job that will actually help her pay the bills. Her story begins in front of the building holding the publishing company. She’s in her car going over “Grace (she’s going by her middle name) Stewart’s 5-Step Program to Authentic Christian Faith.” She bases her plan on a book she’s been reading: “The Dumb Blonde’s Guide to Christianity.” It’s full of all sorts of helpful information which caused her to put bumper stickers on her car (but with scotch tape…just in case she doesn’t get the job), hangs a crown-of-thorns air freshener from her mirror, etc.
As she heads into the building she notices that the bumper sticker is already coming off. As she tries to adjust it she hears a voice saying “it’s crooked.” She doesn’t know it but this encounter is the first of many she’ll have with Jack. As the book unfolds Maizy finds it harder and harder to hide the real reason she applied for the job at this company. What makes it worse is the newspaper finds out she’s working for the publishing company and hires her to do an investigative report. It seems that her boss had tried to do it before but it didn’t work out. She insists that the company is made up of a bunch of hypocrites and wants to “bring the company down.”
Although I enjoyed the book it was fairly predictable. And there were constant reminders that Grace was “faking” it. The whole book made that perfectly clear so the reminders weren’t necessary. Because of these things it would probably be a better read for a younger audience.
Reviewed by Lynn Worley
editor | Oct 22, 2008 | Reply