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Valerie Cox currently teaches high school English in her hometown of Cleveland, Texas. In 2005-2006, she served on the Mercy Ship Anastasis which was docked for a short time in South Africa before heading Monrovia, Liberia, where the medical crew ministered to the people through life-changing surgeries. This book is a story of faith, family and friendship and is based on the author's experiences in Africa with the Mercy Ship.
Reviewed by Susana Pena for Readers' Favorite
Pearls on a Broken String by Valerie Cox is a heartwarming novel that revolves around a high school senior named Ava Zinfield. She is a good student with a big heart, but she feels that something is missing from her life. Her best friend, Miranda, wants to hang out and have fun, while her new friend, Michael, wants her to attend the Christian Student Fellowship meetings. Religion has always been a taboo topic in her family, but Ava starts to question why this is so. During a family vacation to South Africa to visit her grandparents, Ava learns secrets from her family’s past, and this gives her some answers. Ava also meets a girl named Jessie who introduces her to the Mercy Ship, and this leads to a volunteer opportunity, where Ava finally believes in and accepts God’s love.
I enjoyed reading Pearls on a Broken String by Valerie Cox, because I could feel the inner religious struggle that Ava was experiencing throughout the novel. On one hand, Ava wanted to make her parents and best friend, Miranda, happy by following along with their religious beliefs. But on the other hand, Ava wanted to learn more about the Christian ways of her new friends, Michael and Jessie. Ava didn’t want to feel ashamed to believe in and love God. She wanted to liberate herself from these negative feelings and she conquered that after receiving several spiritual messages. The power of the Holy Spirit works in mysterious ways and it provides unconditional love, happiness, and acceptance for those who seek it. This empowering book will help those people who are having the same type of struggle that Ava went through.
