The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass by Katie Powner: Book Review

  *Book received for consideration. All thoughts are my own.

For the first time in his life, Pete has everything to lose.

After years of drifting, fifty-year-old Pete Ryman has settled down with his potbellied pig, Pearl, in the small Montana town of Sleeping Grass--a place he never expected to see again. It's not the life he dreamed of, but there aren't many prospects for a high-school dropout like him.

Elderly widow Wilma Jacobsen carries a burden of guilt over her part in events that led to Pete leaving Sleeping Grass decades ago. Now that he's back, she's been praying for the chance to make things right, but she never expected God's answer to leave her flat on her face--literally--and up to her ears in meddling.

When the younger sister Pete was separated from as a child shows up in Sleeping Grass with her eleven-year-old son, Pete is forced to face a past he buried long ago, and Wilma discovers her long-awaited chance at redemption may come at a higher cost than she's willing to pay.

Katie Powner (www.katiepowner.com) is an award-winning author who lives in rural Montana, where cows still outnumber people. She writes contemporary fiction about redemption, relationships, and finding the dirt road home. She's a mom to the third power (biological, adoptive, and foster) who loves red shoes, Jesus, and candy--not necessarily in that order.

Katie Powner has such a beautiful way of telling stories that will stick with the reader long after the final page... and The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass is another beautiful example of that. 

I will admit, it took me a little bit to get into this story... but I think more than anything, this is just because it's a slower pace than most of the books that I've been reading lately so it took a minute for my brain to slow down to enjoy it. Though I generally DO prefer faster paced reads, I found it worked well for this type of story. 

There were several wonderful characters that we get to know in this story. Each of them is unique and has their own struggles and regrets that they are dealing with. I loved seeing how their lives intertwine and seeing their growth throughout the story. It took on some very difficult topics such as abandonment, foster care, abuse, etc. As such, it wasn't always the easiest to read at points, but it handled these hard moments gracefully and had an overall feeling of friendship, moving forward and faith that was really beautiful. There was also some humor mixed in at points that helped balance it out too. (Looking at you, Pearl!)

Overall, I thought this was a beautifully written story and one that fans of Christian fiction are sure to enjoy.