Flirty globetrotter Sybil badgers her friend Libby to travel along in seeking out the world’s “sacred places”—a monastery in Japan, a mountaintop in Africa, a mosque in Istanbul. Her footloose wandering far from family values costs her more than money.But Libby can’t afford to travel, and she’s plagued by a different kind of restlessness. Grieving the recent death of the grandmother who raised … who raised her in their inner-city Minneapolis tenement now slated for demolition, Libby faces homelessness in both heart and habitation.
When Libby discovers a cryptic message from beyond the grave and an antique ring pointing to a mystery in an inner room of a mansion museum in North Dakota, she sets out on a quest of her own for the meaning of heritage and home.
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Something is missing in middle-aged Libby Walker’s grief-stricken heart after the loss of her beloved Gram and in young Paige Paullson’s graduate research into the life of a mid-western pioneer. Even in Sybil’s restless, crystal-saturated, energy-sucking heart there are twinges of searching and loss. The Red Journal features these three women as individuals groping for inner rest and yearning for something greater than themselves, but readers may recognize themselves in each one’s hunt for completion and meaning. Aren’t we all, at our core, simply walkers in search of Home?
Elkink’s lyrical writing is worth the time it takes to ponder and sort the strands she weaves into a nearly Dickensian tapestry of connectedness by the novel’s end. I found some portions of Paige’s academic angst a bit repetitive, but savoury descriptions of Libby’s soup-making search for Gram’s special recipe and the colourful Sybil’s frenetic world-travel offer unique armchair adventure and sensory delights. Incidentally, for a dead character, Gram is sure lovable.
Most intriguing of all, perhaps, is the music of the ancient Book of Hebrews coursing through it. Those familiar with that tome will soon find themselves on a word search for references, from place and character names (Seven Canaan Lane and Moses David Melchizedek Laird) to images and even the repetition of the time motif, “Today”. In an antique journal, several lines stand out:
“At sundry times and in diverse manners…”
“Today if you could hear my voice…”
“He came alongside the people he served. He became one of them.”
But don’t make the mistake of thinking this book is all depth and heaviness. There are moments of subtle humour with the smarmy, knuckle-cracking real estate agent who’s coming onto Libby or a girlfriend shopping trip and the discovery of a lipstick named “Gore”. And Sybil herself is hilariously frustrating. With her name nearly the same as Libby’s spelled backwards, she’s a cacophony of spiritual confusion and contradiction. She represents all the distraction and clamour the world offers those seeking inner peace. While she confuses Carl Jung with Brigham Young, and as a vegan, makes confession to her green grocer for her meat indiscretions, she’s really a tragicomic figure. Hints occasionally surface of her tender underbelly that carries a fear of death and her guilt and shame, using and being used by men, a slave to her own sensual appetites. Her character reminds us of ourselves and our craving for that which can never satisfy.
This is a novel to savour and to ponder. Read it for its story’s universal appeal in the search for belonging. Read it again to plumb the human soul’s deepest cravings.
A tour de force of characterization. Two women, their lives so disparate, and yet so intertwined, their journeys so diverse. All tied together with a tangled mystery that in the end reveals truth and brings clarity. An exploration through time and levels of meaning.
My Thoughts on The Red Journal:
You guys I picked up this book and I immediately couldn’t put it down. Well, the virtual version of the book I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen would be more accurate.
The book is well written and the characters definitely made me fall in love.
Libby recently lost her grandmother and because of that her home too as it’s going to be demolished. She really doesn’t want to go on the trip she can’t afford but Sybil won’t take no for an answer. It’s not that Sybil is uncaring but rather this is what she’d want someone to do for her if the tides were turned.
When Libby finds some interesting things and receives a message from her dead grandmother things start to speed up. Libby must solve the mystery but can she do it in time? And how can she sleuth around a museum without being seen? Love it!
I came into this book thinking it would be a short read and mediocre. But guys I was floored! This is a really great read with a solid plot. There are a few times it can be confusing as you get some information in chunks and pieces and you really just want to have it all at once. Highly recommend so go grab your copy and read it, then come back and let me know what you thought!
I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from JustRead Publicity Tours. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.
The Red Journal by Deb Elkink is the third novel in The Mosaic Collection series, a series written by a variety of authors with a focus on families of a different kind. When most of us hear the word family, we think of the nuclear family, mother-father-kids or extended family, grandparents-aunts-uncles-cousins. In The Mosaic Collection series, family is those things and more.
For Libby, family was the grandmother who raised her with love and conviction. It was a grandmother who used cliches and things to point Libby toward focusing on brighter things. A beloved grandmother was all the family Libby had, and her anchor.
With her grandmother’s death just a few months behind her, Libby feels adrift and restless. Having continued to live in the apartment she shared with her grandmother, Libby has decided to begin the daunting process of going through grandmother’s things in preparation for finding her own place, roots of her own. The apartment is chock full of knick-knacks all over and pictures, calendars, and cards with encouragement her grandmother loved tacked on the walls in every space possible.
While the process seems daunting, Libby finds herself remembering with every knick-knack she removes and every picture she takes from the walls, the grandmother who used just those things to relate love and truths to her granddaughter. Spending hours and hours clearing the apartment, Libby finds that grandmother had a few things Libby had never seen before. Grandmother had a few mysteries in her life.
Libby has a friend, bold and restless in her own way, loving to travel the world, never really settling into life. Sybil thinks the solution for what ails Libby is to travel the world with her. Libby has no desire to travel despite Sybil’s incessant chatter about all the places she’s been. When Libby finds a journal hidden amongst her grandmother’s things, she sets off on her own journey of discovery to North Dakota.
Thus far, I can truly say I’ve enjoyed each book in The Mosaic Collection and look forward to each book as it releases. The Red Journal is well worth the read and I highly recommend it. I’ve given it four stars only because I found it difficult to follow Sybil’s portions in the book; kind of reminded me of someone jumping about on a pogo stick, going nowhere. I would be remiss if I didn’t remark on my connection with Grandmother’s penchant for things with memories and stories associated with them; I have a curio packed full of just those kinds of things.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and Just Read Tours, and am not required to write a positive review. All thoughts and opinions therein are solely my own, and freely given.
MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK
This book was very different than what I thought, but it was an interesting read. I did have a difficult time keeping my interest in the story especially through most of the book. Closer to the ending, the story comes to life more, with a very nice and interesting ending.
Libby and Sybil are so different and as they travel the world together, readers get to see two different perspectives of the things they do and see. Sybil got on my nerves some, her personality needs some adjustments, but then that’s what gives the book it different layers, the different flavors of each person.
I liked the way this author gave such vivid descriptions of the girls journey. It made me feel like I was traveling along with them. And I’m glad Ms. Elkink was able to weave everything together and write a very neat ending. I encourage you to give this book a try. If you enjoy those books that slip back and forth between the past and the present, you will enjoy this one.
A copy of this book was given to me by the author or publisher. I am not required to write a positive review. The opinions here in this review are totally mine alone. I am disclosing this with my review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
Took me a while to get into but then the story did take off. I did enjoy Libby as she was so set on finding answers to her past and in blazing a path to her future. Sybil on the other hand was spoiled by a rich father and she likes to travel all over the world.trying to find happiness. While this story has a lot of history it is a contemporary read, taking you on a magical journey. The author puts lots of imagination and mystery into this story captivating all that read its pages. The food and the places that are experienced will appeal to many as well as the ending that you won’t expect!
Was given a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
I loved the way the book ended. There were a few hints and yet some parts of the ending were a surprise for me. While at times, I could not figure out how certain things might be related to the plot as a whole, Deb Elkink nicely tied up all the pieces of The Red Journal in the end.
While Sybil’s non-Biblical lifestyle is very well described, Christian faith of other characters is not evident. Biblical values and statements are included throughout the book but they are not always stated as being Biblical. For part of the book I found myself wondering if it was even a Christian book because I am used to Christian faith playing a large part in the Christian books I read – there is no character that stands out as having a strong faith at any point in the story. But snatches of Biblical faith do periodically appear in the story.
I did enjoy how Elkink entwined a contemporary character with historical information and how that historical information gave a lady without known ancestors a personal history.
I do not think that The Red Journal is appropriate for my K-12 Christian school library due to some of the sensuous behavior of one of the characters and her non-biblical views on spirituality which are not vocally condemned. I am afraid that teen readers may become interested in experimenting with Sybil’s lifestyle as it does appear to be exciting and glamorous. Older, more experienced Christians should be able to see past her behavior to its meaninglessness and enjoy the real story of the book – Libby’s life. The book is probably appropriate for church libraries.
I want to thank JustRead Publicity Tours and the Mosaic Collection for the complimentary e-copy of The Red Journal. This is my honest review.
The Red Journal by Deb Elkink is a powerful epic tale of families, roots and belonging. It is part of The Mosaic Collection.
The book follows three women who are all searching for the truth. A young woman is searching for historical facts for her thesis. The other two are searching for family and fulfilment.
Family is important. We all want to be loved and to belong. Sometimes our earthly mothers let us down. We feel abandoned. Others may step in to take their place. There is a beautiful grandmother-granddaughter relationship. A grandmother’s love is unconditional. “Gram loved Libby when there was nothing in it for her.” This reminds the reader that God’s love for us is unconditional. He loves and delights in us because it is His nature to do so.
Death leaves a chasm in lives. The reader witnesses the granddaughter trying to cope by resurrecting her memories. Memories are powerful things. They can unlock a past we did not even realise we had hidden.
There is the theme of forgiveness. It may be hard to do but we need to reach beyond ourselves and forgive because we have been forgiven. We must extend the hand of grace. “Libby couldn’t earn such grace – it was all because of Gram’s sacrificial nature.” Gram is a representative of God as we see love in action through her memory… she had died before the book opened.
One character is desperate to find meaning for her life. She looks in all the wrong places. We all have a God-shaped hole inside us. We can search all we like but if we do not fill this hole with God, we are wasting our time. To quote Solomon, ‘it’s all meaningless.” Only God can satisfy. “Belief itself doesn’t get a girl anywhere. It’s what she believes in that saves her.”
History and heritage are important. A journal reveals a heart and glimpses into the past.
The novel looks into the history of the Cree tribe. The Native Americans suffered prejudice in the nineteenth century but some rose above it and extended a helping hand.
The characters were well drawn and likable. I loved the fact that two of the main characters were not in their first flush of youth… one in her forties and the other was fifty five (the same age as me!)
The Red Journal was such an epic read. It took me a while to get into it but when I did – wow, what a powerful read! I will leave you with my favourite quote:
“Belonging… wasn’t about skin colour or bloodline but about heart attitude.”
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.
What is my favorite soup, meat or vegetable? If money were not an issue, where would I like to travel and who would I take with me? Who do I consider a friend? What relationships do I need to cultivate or drop? These are just a few of the questions I’m mulling over after reading The Red Journal, by Deb Elkink.
Each of the main characters in this book is on their own journey to answer these questions too in one way or another. Libby is searching for her favorite soup recipe so that she can hold on to the memory of her deceased Grandmother. She learns along the way that letting go of the things we think are valuable can lead us to the most precious treasure. Sybil is traveling the world and dabbling in it’s pleasures searching for something she lost when she was young. She sees glimpses of her true treasure, like the soft wings of a butterfly, but brushes them away as if they are a nuisance to her. Paige is ultimately searching for someone elses lost treasure, she just doesn’t know it yet. Her quest will impact not only her but those around her with life-changing results.
My favorite soup has changed over the years as my cooking skills have improved and expanded but I will always have fond memories of my Great-Grandmothers Veggie-Noodle Soup, like Libby with her Gram’s soup. Also, Libbys relationships with the other characters got me thinking about certain relationships in my life. My interest to travel is piqued by some of the descriptions of some of the places Sybil visited. My issues with her belief system have given me the motivation to dig into why I believe what I believe. Paige’s determination to finish what she started, encourages me to stop procastinating and start finishing some projects that really need my attention.
I enjoyed this book, although some parts more than others, but that happens in all books. Even though I didn’t want to put it down, it took me a little longer to read it than I would have liked, because just like with the characters in the book, life happened. It was definitely a journey for me. I learned some things about myself along the way. That is the sign of a good book for me, makes you think and you learn something!
The Red Journal was not what I expected, but it was a wild ride through countries and time periods, which I enjoy. Time-slip novels are a welcome genre for me.
Sybil and Libby are friends who see the world from two very different perspectives. Libby is focused on the recent loss of her grandmother and impending loss of her home. Sybil is wealthy, (thanks to Daddy’s credit cards) unencumbered and ready to explore the world around her with vigor. Sybil takes the job of spoiling Libby by taking her on a trip to many unusual places around the world, just for fun. Along the way, both women learn a lot about themselves,their heritage and history.
The friendship of the two main characters is a layered one, with many different experiences that intertwine. At times the reader could wonder how two polar opposites could be such close friends in the first place!
Throughout the internal journeys of the characters the reader also sees a bit of their spiritual struggles, although faith is alluded to more than having a specific focus. Elkink is a new author for me, so I am unsure if this is the usual way faith is referenced in her writings.
While I love to travel, I don’t get to as often as I would like, and books like The Red Journal will stir the gypsy gene within us all! The rich landscapes, the foods, the scenery…all are beautifully brought to life by Elkink. There’s also a cliffhanger of an ending that keeps you on your toes until the last page.
The Red Journal is a book that has evocative memories of simpler times and also evaluates what it means to truly understand our identity, history and future. It also explores relationships, friendships and ties to all that is familiar. I loved the aspect of Grandma’s soup recipes that Libby loved and reminisced about, as food is a very special part of my memories of family, too.
This isn’t a book that begins or ends the way you’d expect, but it is a wild ride worth taking. You should not expect an implicit faith-based message in this book, but if you like fiction with travel, unique characters and a globetrotting adventure, The Red Journal is for you.
I was an early reader, thanks to Rolled Scroll Press. All opinions are my own and I chose to leave a review for this book.
Overall I enjoyed the story and give it 3 1/2 stars. For me, I had a hard time following time periods. The story would bounce from present day to a few weeks ago etc. I also found it difficult to understand how 2 totally different personalities (main characters) could be best friends. I’ve had many friends that are quite different from me but never a best friend.
Loved this tale of a “lost” woman, Libby, her kookie friend Sybil, and all those they encounter. Libby is ultimately searching for her past, her heritage, as she tries to make steps into her future. Sybil thinks she’s “got it all,” “knows all the answers,” but does she?
This novel is so beautifully written. I love the rich Northern Minnesota history so deeply woven into the story, and that it takes place mostly in the Twin Cities, where I am from. Elknik develops her characters and their surroundings so well, I felt like I was standing right there with them, even wanting to taste Libby’s soup.
If anything, the middle got long, but I was still searching for more at the end. Highly recommend! (Would be a great book club read.)
Libby Walker’s young life was anything but stable but this changed when she turned eight. Her grandmother recognized that her daughter was unable to care for Libby and she took her granddaughter to live with her. For the next forty-two years, until her death, it was Gram who counseled her, consoled her, and offered her unconditional love. Now, as Libby deals with grieving her grandmother’s death and sorting through her belongings. she finds reasons to question her true identity. She was fifty years old and she still didn’t truly know who she was. Who was her father? What was her legacy?
Author Deb Elkink shares Libby’s past life and present life in alternating time periods and I found myself uncertain at times but that didn’t stop me reading! I loved seeing the relationship between Libby and her “Gram” and I was drawn into the mystery surrounding the recurring dreams that showed her as a child in a strange house. Libby wondered if ‘Maybe her loss of Gram was reviving sorrow she surely must have felt back then, a little girl abandoned by her mother and never knowing a father.’
This book has so many facets: unknown parentage, addiction, and interracial love and marriage. Libby’s search for her family brings her into contact with a young woman who is searching for facts to support her academic theories and their separate lives seem somehow connected. Could this red journal have answers for both of them?
The Red Journal offers both contemporary settings and historical fiction with a subtle faith message and it is a satisfying story that is worthy to be a part of the Mosaic Collection.
I received a complimentary copy from the author and I am voluntarily sharing my honest opinions in this review.
I found this book hard to get into in the beginning. Once i got past the first few chapters, it got easier to hold my attention. I found the story gave me a lot of things to ponder and think about. I did enjoy the ending. Overall it was a good story and I would recommend it to others. I received a complimentary copy of this book , but have chosen to freely share my own thoughts and opinions.
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> There’s a drawing of North Dakota’s fictional historic Laird Estates at the beginning of this novel. It drew me right into the story. Like the author, I love history. The Estates in the book are central to a mystery explored by historian Paige Paulsson. This mystery involves Indigenous (Native) people, a priest, and a Scottish immigrant from Canada, Moses David Melchizideck Laird.
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> While Paige seeks answers of an academic nature, Libby Walker’s search is more personal and more desperate. Libby grew up not knowing her father or any father figure. Her mother, a drifting drinker, abandoned her as a child. In the words of the novel, “Since childhood she’s been looking for something to believe in, to hope for, to belong to.”
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> Libby’s grandmother (Gram) was the girl’s emotional and spiritual anchor. She was also the main source of Libby’s limited knowledge of Christianity. The author doesn’t comprehensively articulate Christian beliefs, but she drops hints. For example, Gram says, “I once worshiped rock, tree, and weasel, …before I learned they only hinted at better things to come.” Later, Libby asks her “Where is home?” Gram says “It’s where our fathers rest. Not in the ground, you know.”
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> But Gram has been gone for a while, and Libby at age fifty still feels rootless and homeless. Actually she is homeless, almost. The building she lives in has been condemned so she’s thinking of buying a house. Unfortunately, she may not be able to afford the kind of place she wants. Her realtor, smarmy Clive, proposes a solution. Why doesn’t she move in with him? The idea repulses Libby though her globe-trotting friend Sybil says Libby should jump at the chance of snagging a man. Libby replies, “I don’t want a boyfriend . . . I need a father.”
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> Does she ever find a father? You’ll have to read the book to discover the answer. Here’s a clue: It slowly emerges through Libby’s encounters with historian Paige Paulsson.
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> The Red Journal is an entertaining read. It jumps around in time a bit too much for my taste, but its characters are varied and interesting. Their interactions shed light on universal themes including family values, friendship, compassion, a longing for home (that would be Libby), and a longing to leave home (that would be Libby’s mother and Sybil).
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> The author is especially good at appealing to readers’ senses. Examples include “curly-toed emerald slippers,” “the carpeted stairs tickle,” “buttoned her coat right up to the top,” and “flowering cherry tree in the square.” Then there’s the neighbour who “cleans her dentures with household bleach.”
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> Libby loves to make soups. We can almost taste them—from garlic-herb cheese soup, to beet borscht with dill, to haddock chowder, to the bacon-bean-cabbage soup cobbled up from leftovers. The author makes me want to drop everything, head for the kitchen, and try to recreate some of these culinary delights.
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> Elma (Martens) Schemenauer is an author of many books. They include YesterCanada: Historical Tales of Mystery and Adventure and the 1940s Western Canadian Mennonite novel Consider the Sunflowers.
Deb’s use of words is rich and powerful. She takes you down an intricate path in the telling of the Red Journal as you follow the search of two young women for something more meaningful in their lives.
Having just visited the many temples in Japan this Spring “sakura” season really intrigued and piqued my interest in reading this timely and fascinating book by Elkink. I love a book that has surprises and unexpected story lines, so I really enjoyed this creative storytelling by the author, with amazing characters you will grow to enjoy reading about and relate in some way.
The themes of the story that I loved and resonated with me are the importance and value of friendship and family. The beautiful writing and exquisite descriptions of the locations, the food and the people were all amazingly written.
I highly recommend this book I enjoyed very much!
What a profound story—I’m so glad I stuck with it!
Sybil seems more an annoyance in Libby’s life than any sort of friend. I sure didn’t like her! So brash and pushy. I felt like there was far too much description of her past ventures to “enlightenment;” it bogged down the reading for me.
Same with Paige’s research. Fascinating as it was, for me it distracted from the story.
The threads of the story were there, though, however thin for the first two-thirds of the book.
Then, BAM! It picked up in intensity and held my interest, urging me on to the final page.
Oh, how well Ms. Elkink wove this together, so tightly knit. As brash as she was, Sybil served her purpose in Libby’s life. And as unrelated as it seemed, Paige’s research also had significant impact.
Ms. Elkink layers elements, the ugly, the miserable, with the tender and loving, and portrays a true image of life. Like ingredients in soup, each element contributes to the whole of the flavor, and to take one away, even the bitter, would distort the final result.
Overall a wonderful story with a profound Truth imbedded within.
ROBIN’S FEATHERS
THREE FEATHERS
I received a complimentary copy of this book, but was under no obligation to read the book or to post a review. I offer my review of my own free will. The opinions expressed in my review are my honest thoughts and reaction to this book.
#Blogwords, Tuesday Reviews-Day, #TRD, Book Review, The Red Journal, Deb Elkink, Mosaic Collection, JustRead Publicity Tours
The story of three women in search of something fulfilling.
Libby searching for home, rest, a place of belonging, a father takes her on a journey of uncertainty, fear and realization that home and belonging is in our Father God. I admire reading about the faith her Gram passed to her and her family hearitage she got to discover on a journey she took which she wasn’t keen on taking. Her path intertwined with Paige who was also trying to discover the truth about an old figure who happened to have ties with someone she got to know. Together they discovered what Libby has always been searching for.
I enjoyed reading about Paige’s zest to find the truth. I loved the patience of her husband even when she spent long hours in her academic work. It was divine Providence on how her path crossed with Libby.
I was happy at the end when Libby got all and more she yearned for. I was glad to read that even at her age she found a home and her Heavenly Father God. So age is not a barrier in having a relationship with God.
Sybil was Libby’s friend and was in her own world of psych and self revelation. After what happened to her mother she decided to take matters into her own hands and pivoted into a world of self realization through psych ways. She was a care free spirit who was on a journey of self realization and healing through her many travels, and tried to find happiness in touring the world, wellness techniques. Reading about her, I pitied her. She filled herself with a lot of travels and self awareness and healing, self actualization through meditation and all, a lot of sexual lovers and yet she always turned out empty and searching for more. The only one that fills is Jesus. Reading about her helped me see how deep people would go to fill the void in their souls without Jesus. Her life was all about living in the moment.
I received a copy of this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed here are mine.