Katja Labonté's Reviews > Tomorrow Isn't Promised

5+ stars (8/10 hearts). I haven’t cried this hard over a book since I was a teenager reading A Place Called Lonesome. And yet I was so, so happy.

How do I even review this? It's so amazing. I adore Chelsea Burden's writing style. I love the gentle humour and poignant, gorgeous writing... and I have rarely read a better written (view spoiler)[death scene (hide spoiler)]. Nathan & Cherish are wonderful characters—so spiritual, yet both realistic and human. Cherish is such a model, and as for Nathan, I aspire to be as in tune with the Lord and His heart and will! Their friends are all wise and lovely, and Cherish’s bestie is such a fun, fun girl… and Erstin broke my heart…

The plot was gripping—simple and slice-of-life, but mix in life-ending diagnoses, and all that they entail through the last few months... plus all the back-and-forth on miracles and healing... and you just can't put the book down till you know what happens. And the romance. It was was very, very sweet, so beautiful and sacrificing and noble and deep!!

Yes, all this was delightful—but that wasn’t, fully, the focus of the novel.

The focus was the message. The beautiful, heart-wrenching, liberating message—that tomorrow isn’t promised… and all that this entails. I needed that right now. When I, myself, am stuck at a waiting point… unsatisfied with my life… finding my hopes and dreams unfulfilled… trying to seek the Father’s will and abide in Him… Oh, how can I cover what this book’s message really was? It’s so deep, so true, so splendid. Life is so tragic, but so beautiful; so hard, but so rewarding. God asks so much of us, but He gives so much, and He makes everything so very, very worth it. Our cameo in His story is brief, but the overall tale is so wondrous and perfect!

I find this review very dissatisfactory… I can’t express the depths and beauty of this novel well enough. It had me gripped until the very end, unsure of what would happen; it broke my heart and stitched it gently back together; it broadened my mind, it filled my soul with reverence and aspiration… It is a good story, but above all, it is a much-needed reminder.

*Quotes to come upon reread. I received a complimentary copy of this book for promotional purposes. I was not required to write a positive review. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.*