Coming Home

by David Lewis

Jessica Lehman, world-weary and despondent, takes an impulsive detour to visit her hometown and discovers more than she anticipated. A single purchase in a quaint gift shop becomes the catalyst for reviving long-buried memories of her tragic childhood, mixed with happier memories of her ?rst sweetheart, who had always promised to "rescue her from dragons." Her childish hope for the fairy tale "happy ending" had been dashed years ago, and Jessie now ?nds herself at a crossroads, ?ghting her last battle alone. Can she renew her faith in a God who seemingly abandoned her? Is the deepest desire of her heart--to love and be loved--lost forever?

Genres: Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian, Romance, Contemporary, Mystery

352 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

David Lewis is the co-author (with his wife, Beverly Lewis) of the bestselling Sanctuary. Coming Home is his first solo novel. The Lewises make their home in the foothills of Colorado's front range.

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I'm comin' home! I'm comin' home! Tell the world I'm comin' home! Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday! I know my kingdom awaits, and they've forgiven my mistakes..."

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jessica finds herself returning to her tiny hometown in Colorado on a whim after finishing grad school. She returns with mixed feelings since her parents died years ago and she debates facing her grandmother who played a bitter role in both their deaths. While there, she runs into Andy, her girlhood best friend/crush and naturally, romantic feelings resurface. This book has a great plot and a bit of mystery with a lot of potential. Unfortunately, the author does a less than perfect job of delivering and the supposed "mystery" is trivialized and a bit too easy to unravel. The crucial culmination of events in the end is just a little too perfect as well. On top of all that, the author includes details about the two main characters' religious doubts and subsequent conversions to Christianity which, in my mind, were just a little too simplistic and forced. But despite all that, it was a pretty good book.

[Caspian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m torn on the rating here. 3.5 maybe? Goodness I loved this book but was also a little disappointed as well. Parts of it were really fascinating but it was really slow paced. Also, it felt a little anticlimactic, and I felt as if I somehow missed something at the end.

Worth the read though, the plot feels complex in a really cool way, and I honestly didn’t know how the book would end, which was exciting! There were so many different ways the book could have gone.


MILD SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!




I want a sequel but it would just be heartbreaking :(

[Lewestover · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to really like this book, but it was disappointing. It was rather predictable. What bothered me most was the depressing, chip-on-my-shoulder, unforgiving attitude of the main character. I understand that she had lost much, but that is a sorry excuse for never being able to consider the position of another.

[Val · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite book. I don’t plan on reading anymore of his books. I like how God was brought into the story and the struggle, but it got a little weird with the main character’s connection with her mom…. I have dreams too but not like that…. So not really the best but not the worst.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good, for a genre book

Unlike much of "Christian" fiction, this is not a sappy novel. It features realistic characters as well as a fairly believable story, with some suspense thrown in.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I created a new tag - Book hangover. This is a compliment though, this is the type of book that I will be thinking about for weeks, that's how powerful the story was.

[Angela Kinnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome story! Loved the characters and mystery. I laughed and cried. Had a hard time putting it down.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine story but coming off of two really good ones this one fell a little short. It took me a while to get into it too.

[Samantha Cornwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good book!!!!!!!! Loved it! :)

[Lorna R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soldier returns home

[Kris Herrah Arancon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not find any copy of this book anymore 💔 My copy was barrowed and she flew to texas bringing my book. I love the twist and turns and how Lewis slowly revealed the truth without any hint.

[Michelle Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story line. Plenty of suspense with unknown direction till the end.

[ANNETTE · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story line. I felt like it was a little story in the middle but, the twists at the ending was good

[Jessica Howe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dark and mysterious....
Ended abruptly, very little closure. The plot seemed to drag on.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessica Lehman doesn't want to remember her past, with all its heartache. She doesn't want to get help, as her latest boyfriend seems to think she needs. All she wants to do is flee to paradise--Oregon. The sea.

On her way there, she changes her mind. She decides to face the painful memories. She returns to her childhood home, thinking it will help her to get on with life.

Little by little, glimpses of the past come back to her, and it frightens her.

Then, she finds out her grandmother--Doris Crenshaw--bought her childhoom home. Angry, Jessie drives to her grandmother's house, ready for a fight. Her grandmother always wanted to own everything. First she stole Jessie's mother--now this. This was stealing a part of Jessie's childhood, leaving it uninhabited and cold. No cheerful family lives in the house, no lights illuminate the windows.

When Jessie arrives at her grandmother's house, her nerve leaves her. Her grandmother looks frailer than she remembers, but her manner is the same. Chatty and in charge.

Andy McCormick, childhood friend of Jessie's, shows up one day when she meets with her friend Mrs. Robinette, who works at the ice cream shop in her hometown. Andy and Jessie strike up a friendship again, talking of old days and new.

As their friendship is reestablished, they go back to Jessie's old house. Memories come back, and Jessie finds herself sharing some of them with Andy.

Andy has his own problems, and they intensify when he realizes his affection for Jessie is growing. Andy's parents think he is a Christian, as he once thought. Now, he knows he is not, for doubts of the Bible's authenticity plague him. Jessie herself is not a Christian, he finds. His parents would never understand why he would be interested in a non-Christian, and he also doesn't want to marry a non-Christian. Yet he can't marry a Christian while he is not one.

Can Jessie and Andy face their past--and their future?

With doses of humor, mystery, and sorrow, David Lewis has written a candid and poignant novel that I will not soon forget.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I needed to read a simple feel-good story that had an element of faith to counter the more literary and stuff I've read lately. I'm probably more a critic of popcorn Christian fiction. But, to be honest, despite the fact that this title met some of my expectations of Christian fiction, the story still grabbed me and I connected with it emotionally. Not a literary work. I wouldn't read it for the enjoyment of the language or the depth of the spiritual content. But as a diversion into more positive territory, it served well. Thanks David Lewis.

[Larisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suspenseful, heart warming, and a tear jerker this story by David Lewis takes reader on a journey with main character Jessica, who for years had locked everything and everyone out. Over time, Jessie opens up to God, so subsequently also she opens up to family and friends in her circle.

The last chapter in the book sums up "Coming Home": no matter what happened, no matter the suffering or disappointment, their ultimate purpose was to travel with hope & courage, and to be ready - whenever the time came - for Jesus to call them home!!

[Ruthie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great! If you can tolerate a couple of mistakes concerning The Wizard of Oz and The Munsters trivia, this book will keep you guessing right up to the end. Every time I thought I had it figured out, the story would take an unexpected twist and make me rethink my predictions. This book also marks the first time I have teared up while reading. A very good read and very moving.

[MaryAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this Christian novel, but it just kind of fell flat for me. It was a good story, but a bit too predictable. As I lived the story with the female lead I just kept asking myself how she couldn't put the pieces together sooner.

Overall a feel good story, just not as good as I was hoping it would be.

[Adalee Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is pretty good for what it is. It was well written and easy to read, and unlike other “romances” it actually had a point behind it, and a deeper plot.
I didn’t like the characters all that well however, and wasn’t crazy about the ending

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This started out a bit slow for me but half way through the book I could not put it down! The ending surprised me and ws much better then I thought it would be. The people that God brings into your life can have a wonderful impact on you as the main charecter finds out.

[Melissa]

I have put this one down for now... I started "Plain Truth" and like it much better!

[Rose]

F Lew

[Cws]

YA Lew

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't get into this book. Maybe I will try another time

[Joedauphin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book fast read thried to push religion too much in last quarter of book.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book. Completed it months ago and just realized I was still getting questions about it.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good story. It kept you questioning till the end. Love how she came to the Lord after so long.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable but still enjoyable