Jerusalem Rising: Adah’s Journey by Barbara Britton
Biblical history
Harbourlight, November 2017
$4.99
$14.99
Buy on Amazon
About the Book:
When Adah bat Shallum finds the governor of Judah weeping
over the crumbling wall of Jerusalem, she learns the reason for Nehemiah's
unexpected visit—God has called him to rebuild the wall around the City of
David. Nehemiah challenges the people of God to labor on the wall and in
return, the names of their fathers will be written in the annals for future
generations to cherish. But Adah has one sister and no brothers. Will her
father, who rules a half-district of Jerusalem, be forgotten forever? Adah
bravely vows to rebuild her city's wall, though she soon discovers that
Jerusalem not only has enemies outside the city, but also within. Can Adah, her
sister, and the men they love, honor God's call? Or will their mission be
crushed by the same stones they hope to construct?
Review:
Beautifully written, well-researched tale of one of the lost
eras in the history of the Hebrew nation. Yes, we read about rebuilding the
wall in Ezra and Nehemiah, but then begins a dark ages-like time until the
Roman occupation. It’s good to know that women went alongside as they were
called to do. While Britton doesn’t mean to create a feminist novel here, she
does want us to know through lovely fiction that women were not always the
paving stones of the biblical world. They had a mission and a voice and real
goals. Adah’s Journey is a story of one of these women with a personality and a
national sense of duty; a determination to act upon God’s call for her community
no matter what misguided men of the society believe of feminine capabilities in
opposition to God’s plan.
Adah’s mother encourages Adah and her sister Judith to seek
help from an old friend who has gone to live as a hermit outside of the city. This
master builder has his own past to deal with and fights rejoining society.
Nehemiah, the cupbearer to the king, is portrayed as a sympathetic hero who
must convince his own people to retake their culture and their faith during a
broken time. Fans of biblical fiction will find much to love about this story,
one of the Tribes of Israel series. Adah’s Journey is a stand-alone full-length
novel.
About the Author:
I received my galley for Providence: Hannah’s Journey after my second surgery. I had to laugh at the timing. God knew I needed a distraction from hospitals and doctors and needles. What a blessing to focus on my debut novel rather than cancer, prosthetics, or a recurrence. Jesus was my rock. His gift of writing served as a diversion from the chaos of cancer.