Where Do I Go?

October 20, 2008
Jackson's Yada Yada series has sold half a million copies, and this new offshoot series—the Yada Yada House of Hope—promises the same. Gabrielle Fairbanks moves to Chicago with her businessman husband, Philip, leaving their sons behind at boarding school in Virginia. She literally stumbles over a homeless woman, an event that changes Gabby's life. She looks her up at Manna House, a homeless shelter, and first finds welcome and eventually a job. But her husband is hostile toward both Gabby and her job. Can she juggle her angry husband and his new business, her sons when they come home for the summer, her ill mother, her job and her growing interest in God? While the plot certainly generates interest, readers may become weary of Gabby's lack of grit when it comes to Philip, as well as his selfishness and anger toward his wife. But the book's dramatic ending highlights both, leaving readers eager for the next installment in the series.

December 1, 2008
Gabriellemarries wealthy Philip Fairbanks and becomes rich and unhappy.In the Fairbanks family tradition, her two boys are sent to boarding school, while she spends her days alone in theirChicago penthouse, hatingher life. Then she encounters Lucy, who frequentsa local shelter. The young husband and wife who run the shelter are poor but happy. Their lives reflect their faith. Soon, Gabrielle realizes that their sense of purpose andstrong belief in God are whats missing in her life. She begins working at the shelter, but her husband, concerned about their social status, threatens her with divorce and a loss of custody of their children if she doesnt quit. The latest inJacksons popular Yada Yada books is filled withcharacters driven bybelievableemotional conflicts, and her sensitive handling ofher homeless characters will cause readers to think twice before dismissingreal people who are down on their luck. This is a truly moving story aboutall-too-commoncommunityproblems and attitudes.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)