To the Moon and Back
A Novel
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury comes a “heart tugging and emotional” story in the Baxter Family collection that will “touch readers deeply” (RT Book Reviews) featuring two people who lost their parents in the same national tragedy—two people desperate to find each other and the connection they shared for a single day…that changed everything.
Brady Bradshaw was a child when the Oklahoma City bombing killed his mother. Every year, Brady visits the memorial site on the anniversary to remember her. Eleven years ago on that day, he met Jenna Phillips, who was also a child when her parents were killed in the attack. Brady and Jenna shared a deep heart connection and a single beautiful day together at the memorial. But after that, Brady never saw Jenna again. Every year when he returns, he leaves a note for her in hopes that he might find her again.
This year, Ashley Baxter Blake and her sister Kari Baxter Taylor and their families take a spring break trip that includes a visit to the site to see the memorial’s famous Survivor Tree. While there, Ashley spots a young man, alone and troubled. That man is Brady Bradshaw. A chance moment leads Ashley to help Brady find Jenna, the girl he can’t forget.
Ashley’s family is skeptical, but she pushes them to support her efforts to find the girl and bring them together. But will it work? Will her husband, Landon, understand her intentions? And is a shared heartache enough reason to fall in love?
With To The Moon and Back “Kingsbury skillfully weaves a tale of divine love” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) in an unlikely love story about healing, redemption, hope, and the belief that sometimes a new tomorrow can grow from the ashes of a shattered yesterday. “Kingsbury writes with seemingly effortless poetic elegance, capturing the tender, intimate moments of daily family life as well as heart-wrenching flashbacks to fatal tragedy. A moving story of survival, of faith, and of beauty from the ashes” (Booklist).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kingsbury continues the Baxter Family series (following In This Moment) with a pleasing tale of heartache. Thomas "Brady" Bradshaw and Jenna Dawson share the devastating experience of losing their parents in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. When they are 17, they meet and connect deeply for a few brief hours at the memorial site in 2007. Despite their intention to stay in touch, they disappear from each other's lives for over a decade after that single meeting but they never stop thinking about each other. Although Brady hasn't been able to find Jenna, he waits at the site each year on the anniversary of the bombing and places his faith in God that someday they will reconnect. On a spring break trip to see the survivor tree at the site, Ashley Baxter Blake, a character from previous Baxter Family books, finds a letter addressed to Jenna that Brady left behind. Feeling compelled by God, she reaches out to Brady and offers to employ her internet sleuthing skills to help them reconnect. But when Brady and Jenna finally meet again, they figure out that the tragedy affects them in different ways; where Brady is unable to let go of his pain, Jenna desperately wants to move on from the past. In the end, they must rely on faith to overcome their past and forge a new future. Kingsbury skillfully weaves a tale of divine love coming to those in the most need in this romantic tearjerker.
Customer Reviews
Oklahoma
To start with, yes, Karen wrote about 2 survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing. If you don’t remember it, it’s alright, you will still like this book!
Meet Brady, who was in the building and was 5 years old, and there was Jenna, whose parents were in the building, she was 5 also. You learn about the 2 of them, and the lives they lived after the disaster. The Baxters play a significant role in their story, Ashley especially!
I really was touched by their stories and the connection between them! This is a wonderful book, I really loved it, the Christian aspect and everything!
Great book
I love this book!! It’s definitely a “tearjerker” as Publishers Weekly said . But it’s really good !
My Favorite Author
I've never read a Karen Kingsbury book that I didn't love. They all have such beautiful stories that leave you uplifted and inspired and it's so nice that the main characters like the Baxters, remain and you get to watch their lives unfold book after book. They feel like family and I always can't wait for the next to be released.