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Liked It “The year is 1967. Shepherdsville, Minnesota is where Frank McRae and his family lived. The war in Viet Nam is about to cause a huge rift between Frank and his son, Mike. Mike goes off to war. |
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“The year is 1967. Shepherdsville, Minnesota is where Frank McRae and his family lived. The war in Viet Nam is about to cause a huge rift between Frank and his son, Mike. Mike goes off to war.
Cheryl wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Back home, Frank has a lot on his mind with worrying about his son and caring for his wife, Maggie. Maggie is fighting her own war. She has cancer. She puts her trust in God.
Mike falls in love with a Vietnamese woman named Thi Nhuong. When Mike’s father learns that he is married, he goes into a rage. As if marrying a Vietnamese was bad enough, Thi Nhuong is also a Buddhist. Frank has a big issue with Mike marrying Thi Nhuong. Frank still holds a grudge against the Japanese, from back when he fought in the south Pacific during WWII.
Frank receives an upheaval when both Maggie and Mike die. Can Frank forgive and forget when Thi Nhuong shows up at his door step…pregnant.
I really liked this book. I almost finished it in one sitting. The characters were engaging and interesting. I felt bad for Frank. His rock, Maggie had just passed way, leaving Frank to fend for himself. It is easier to hold a grudge then it is to forgive. This was the plot of the story. Through, Mike has gone to war; I got to know him through the letter he wrote. I thought One Holy Night was a good book. Would read more by this author.
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“Will One Holy Night make a difference in one anger, bitter man's life? What will it take to bring Frank McRae to forgive those that have done him and those he loved wrong. Frank finds himself bitter and very hateful of any Asian person that comes across his path. He saw alot while fighting in WWII, more than he wishes and the memories seem to be like open wounds in his mind. The atrocities of war; purposeless killing and senseless dying brings Frank to a hatred of any Asian and they don't have to be Japanese. Frank finds his relationship with his son, Mike, not to be the best especially when Mike joins the Army and sent to Viet Nam. Frank, like many others, isn't too sure if this war is justified for the US to be involved in. Things get even worse between father and son when Mike takes a Vietnamese girl to be his wife. Frank tries to bargain with God once his wife has a relates with cancer. If God will heal his wife, Maggie, then he would serve Him. However, God is sovereign and knows what is best even when we think we have it all together. We can shake our fist at God but His existence doesn't depend on what we believe. Finally, it takes a monstrous act on his part for God to get his attention. Will Frank be able to ever see that all things work together for good? Will he be able to truly say as Job, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." This book is a tear jerker in some spots so you may need a tissue handy. I haven't read a tear jerker in a while.
Abi B wrote this review Tuesday, December 23 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Read 1st chapter @
http://www.homesteadblogger.com/teaching4Him/117517/”
“Set in Minnesota during the Viet Nam Era, Maggie, a mother fights ovarian cancer while her son goes off to war. Thankfully, her married daughter, Julie, a nurse is close at hand. Maggie's husband, Frank, a WWII veteran, is a man filled with prejudice and hatred toward the "enemies." The ugliness of war can destroy lives. Can God restore?
SmilingSally wrote this review Friday, November 14 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The story is predictable, and the characters are one-dimensional. However, there's much good inside these covers. Obviously, the author worked hard to get the details correct. The wrestling with God is dramatically realistic. Forgiveness and God's love are the themes, and these are lessons we all need to learn and relearn. A Study Guide is included. This is a different Christmas story.”
“One Holy Night by J.M. Hochstetler is a powerful novel of anger and redemption. The McRae family is facing serious crises in 1966. Frank and Maggie are facing the deployment of their son Mike to Vietnam while Maggie is fighting ovarian cancer. The events of the next thirteen months will leave them all changed forever, including their daughter Julie and her husband Dan. Mike is uncertain about the war, as well as his faith, but enlisting seemed the right thing to do, especially to please his WWII vet father. Frank is harboring bitter feelings toward anyone of Asian decent after what he saw during his war years and that soon spills into his relationship with his son when Mike falls in love with a Vietnamese girl. Hochstetler unflinchingly portrays the anger of bigotry and its effects through Frank. His words are difficult to read, but the author uses them to at first define and then eventually redeem the character. One Holy Night contains a miracle that can change even the hardest of hearts. I was impressed at how Hochstetler let her characters talk about their faith to unbelievers without proselytizing. It's a perfect novel for Christmas with a story full of hope and love.”
clockstein wrote this review Friday, November 14 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I give it 4 1/2 stars (Shelfari doesn't allow halves). :o)
anemulligan wrote this review Wednesday, February 13 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Set in the sixties, One Holy Night offers so much more story than the title infers. Hochstetler's writing enables you to suspend disbelief and enter the 60's, that era of awakening from small-town innocence to the awareness all is not right with the world. The author is a master at building complex characters that will steal your heart. This poignant tale of forgiveness and healing is a far cry from predictable. And it definitely wasn't what I was expecting, but so much more.
It's a tale of Frank's family as they journey through sickness, unbelief and war. His son, Mike, struggles with not being there for his mom, Maggie, in her battle with cancer. Mike's letters from the battlefields in Viet Nam reveal some of war's stark reality. Big sister, Julie, shares her mother's faith along with her pastor husband, Dan, but despairs over her dad's lack and her brother's uncertainty.
The faith journey is a realistic one. I loved how Hochstetler portrays Julie questioning God. Too often writes give us plastic icons, bearers of strength and platitudes. Not so in One Holy Night. But how they deal with the hurt is something I could relate to. And isn't that what we want in inspirational fiction? I give One Holy Night a very high recommendation.
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