When single mother Priscilla Lynn Macy discovers she's pregnant, she packs up her family and embarks on a "vacation." Her 8-year-old daughter, Janie, realizes that her mother is looking for the father who abandoned them. When they arrive at the homestead in South Carolina, Priscilla faces long-buried secrets---and Janie learns about difficult choices grownups make. 320 pages, softcover from Nelson.

Average Customer Rating:

3.4

out of

(5 Reviews) 5

Rating Snapshot (5 reviews)

5 stars

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Customer Reviews for Saving Cicadas

Review 1 for Saving Cicadas

Overall Rating:

3 out of 5

Date:February 4, 2010

Cecilia

There are many things about Saving Cicadas that I loved. I have read a decent amount of Christian fiction, and after awhile, they can start to sound the same. This book broke from that mold. The characters were engaging, well developed, and thankfully not perfect! The drama between family members was believable. The voice of the book switched between Janie, an eight year old, and Mona, the grandmother. Sometimes that can be distracting, but in this case it actually helped deepen the story. I love when I can read a story and get caught up in the everyday details that are shared without feeling monotony. To me, everyday details make the story engaging, and I felt that way about this book.Without spoiling the book, there were some theological issues with the book that I had a hard time getting over. Honestly, I think that has a lot to do with being a mother of a stillborn child (I don't know how to further explain without giving major plot twists away) so they may not bother everyone, but they took away from the message of the book for me. The author does have a disclaimer at the end of the book which does acknowledge the discrepancies, and I do admire how she took on controversial topics and I agree with the message she was trying to share. All and all, though I did not completely agree with the book I did love the author's style and will be checking out her other books.Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 : Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

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Review 2 for Saving Cicadas

Overall Rating:

5 out of 5

Date:January 22, 2010

Valerie Lynn

Saving Cicadas is one book you will not be able to put down. Janie Doe Macy, the 8 year old daughter of Priscilla is absolutely and angel. You will fall in love with her.Priscilla finds herself pregnant once again. She already has two daughters and now a third child is on the way. She has choices she needs to make, yet the choices she made in the past haunts her.Priscilla and the girls embark upon an adventure in which many things come to light. Things in which will leave the reader breathless and in awe.The book is amazing and I love how it is written from Janie's point of view. The ending will leave you speechless as I know it left me that way. I know you will enjoy this book and will read it over and over again. Be blessed in reading.Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 : Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

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Review 3 for Saving Cicadas

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5

Date:December 19, 2009

Ashley

I liked this book very much. Janie Doe Macy is a sweet little girl, and I liked how the author wrote the story through her viewpoint.There was a part towards the end that confused me at first and almost made me put the book down, but after reading the story it is cleared up a bit. I don't know if I completely agree with that part of the story, but it's still a moving story that helps show how precious life is.

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Review 4 for Saving Cicadas

Overall Rating:

2 out of 5

Date:December 18, 2009

Robin Prater

Top 25 Contributor

This is a story about family, about choices and how each choice we make effects the rest of our lives. This story begins with Priscilla, a single mother, her parents, Mona and Poppy, as her children call him, along with her children, Rainey, who is seventeen and has down syndrome, and Janie, her smart, but outspoken, eight year old daughter. Priscilla finds out she is pregnant and instead of facing her circumstances head on, she leaves with her family in tow, driving across state and ending up back home where their lives together began in Forest Pines, South Carolina. Priscilla is looking for the father of her daughters that left, never to be heard from again, that is until they met one night and she became pregnant for the third time. My favorite part of this story was when Poppy told the girls about the cicadas. While they are outside in the beautiful weather, they notice these little bugs everywhere, not making a sound, but the sight of them brings beauty. Poppy shares how every seventeen years the cicadas come out of the ground to lay their eggs, only to die shortly after. Little Rainey carries one with her throughout this story, and I believe the cicadas tells the theme of the story. That through the beauty of life, there is death and many things we do not understand. Priscilla finds her haunted past in South Carolina, a past of an abortion, a baby receiving her angel wings, and of parents hanging on to see their daughter come to healing. She does find healing with the help of a brother, now to come into her life as a Pastor. This story was somewhat hard for me to follow. I loved the meaning of this story, but felt the story line moved too much and left me feeling confused. She shares through a third person narrative how the child feels about all that she has lost not having life. This book was a gift from Thomas Nelson for its review.

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Review 5 for Saving Cicadas

Overall Rating:

3 out of 5

Date:December 16, 2009

Alyssa

I have mixed feelings about this book. And I cant be too specific or I will spoil the whole plot. There is a huge, uh, twist. It was completely unexpected. Personally, it made me angry and upset. And confused...and frustrated. How could the author do that?!? I thought. She ruined a great book! But after getting to the end, I was more calmed down and could somewhat understand why the author did what she did. It was to make a point. An important one. I will say that, to her credit, the author addressed the horrors of abortion and the value of life in a way that, most likely, has never been done before. May we all be childlike enough to see abortion for what it really iskilling innocent babies! It is a well-written book that captured my attention; it was hard to put down. However, in my opinion, it was not quite as consistent as it could have been. In the end, its tough for me to know where I stand on this book. I dont hate it but I dont love it. And I dont know if I would recommend it or not. I probably wouldnt because I just remembered that the author used Gods name in vain a few times. I did not appreciate that. As a general note, though this story is told mainly through the eyes of a young child, it is meant for older readers.

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