The Sowing Season by Katie Powner {Book Review}

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for consideration. All thoughts are  my own.  

After he's forced to sell the family farm he's labored on his whole life, 63-year-old Gerrit Laninga doesn't know what to do with himself. He sacrificed everything for the land--his time, his health, his family--with nothing to show for it but bitterness, regret, and two grown children who want nothing to do with him.

Fifteen-year-old Rae Walters has growing doubts and fears about The Plan--the detailed blueprint for high school that will help her follow in her lawyer father's footsteps. She's always been committed to The Plan, but now that the pressure to succeed is building, what was supposed to unite her family in purpose, may end up tearing it apart.

When their paths cross just as they each need a friend the most, Gerrit's and Rae's lives begin to change in unexpected ways. Can they discover together what really matters in life and learn it's never too late for a second chance?

Katie Powner is an award-winning author who lives in rural Montana where cows still outnumber people. She's a two-time OCW Cascade Award and ACFW First Impressions Award winner. Katie is the biological and adoptive mother of three and foster mother to many more. To learn more, visit www.katiepowner.com.

With a debut like The Sowing Season, I absolutely cannot wait to see Katie Powner does next! She tells this unique story with the skills of a seasoned author, I never would have expected it was her first novel! 

In this story, we meet Gerrit and Rae. Gerrit is a 63-year-old farmer who has just sold his family farm, and finds himself uncertain of his future. Rae is a 15-year-old girl whose life has been planned out for as long as she can remember- get perfect grades, graduate at the top of her class, attend Columbia and become a lawyer just like her father. But is The Plan what she really wants for her life? Despite their very different personalities and stages in life, they find themselves forming a rather unlikely friendship. 

Not only is it a story about their friendship and their search to discover what they want... but it is also about their family relationships and healing as well. It was beautifully told in a way that is both dramatic and heartfelt... but also quite humorous as well. There is a delightfully mischievous rooster that keeps things lighthearted and fun. The great descriptions of Gerrit's awkward moments and Rae's questionable driving also added some humor and helped to make the characters all the more endearing too. 

Overall, this was a great read with beautiful messages that fans of Christian fiction are sure to enjoy!