The Shack By William P. Young

The Shack by William P. Young is a story about Mack, a man whose daughter is kidnapped and brutally murdered. A few years after her murder, Mack receives an invitation from God to meet Him at the shack where they found his daughter's bloody clothes. Mack goes and works through the meaning of suffering as he spends the weekend with the Trinity, uniquely portrayed (God the Father is a large black woman, for instance).

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Amy's Review:

Okay on this blog I pretty much say that I love every book that I read and I do for the most part.  If I don't love it believe me I will tell you.  This book was recommended to me by my boss.  He is in the education field but I didn't take him for a reader.  He told me to read it and then wanted my opinion on it afterwards.  Typically I look up and see what a book is about or read the back of the book to see what it is about and I did neither with this one.  A couple years ago I would have shrugged this off and not read the book only cause mystery and romance are my genres.  However since joining a local book club I have really opened up and read lots of different things and thank those ladies for it!

This book was hard for me to put down.  It tested my beliefs in god and in faith.  As for the mother in me it broke my heart and I couldn't imagine going through what he did with my own daughter.  With that said it suggested to me that god is not man nor woman like my catholic upbringing suggested. The book suggested that he is very much like reading a book, you can conjure up whatever image of god you like.  In this book God was a black woman.  Because of my upbringing I had never taken the time to imagine god as a woman let alone a black woman.  I found myself asking the same questions that Mac was asking like why did this happen to his daughter and why didn't god intervene.  The book takes you on a journey.  It will make you mad, make you laugh, make you cry and break your heart all at the same time.  I find myself at times reflecting on this book and thinking about the human shapes that God took on in the book.  This book encouraged me to work at being a better person than I am.  It also encouraged me to love others unconditionally and forgive so that I may be forgiven.  I can honestly say this book is not for everyone but it was a good book for me and I really liked it.  If you are feeling adventurous and want to step out of your box, try this book out.  If anything it will definitely get you to thinking!