Title: Queen of the
Waves
Author: Janice Thompson
Pages: 336
Year: 2012
Publisher: Summerside
What one word would you use to describe
your thoughts or feelings when you hear the word Titanic? No matter how much I have read, viewed or
listened to about the Titanic, I find there is always one common experience for
me and that is my heart is torn. There
is the overwhelming number of people who perished that night one hundred years
ago, but there are also stories of known heroics and heroes. Of course, there are some who focus on who is
to blame and who is isn’t. Sometimes the
focus is on the bravery and the not so brave.
Whether some story is told of the Titanic, fiction or nonfiction, it
still stirs the hearts and minds of people a century later. Janice Thompson does a masterful job of
weaving together a story that has the elements mentioned above, yet also shows
the faith her characters exhibit. Some
of the characters don’t believe in God as a Father due to their personal
experience, while others find it all so easy to lean upon God as a Father due
to the influence of someone’s life.
The basic story of the Titanic is known,
and there, of course, are things unknown about the real night and events
leading up to that voyage. Janice’s main
story centers on the characters of Jacquie, Tessa, and Iris. One of them is a daughter who is abused by
her father’s misrepresentation of the Father and forgiveness. One has lived on a farm; two of the ladies
live in mansions. Then we meet Nathan,
Roland, and Peter. Nathan was raised by
a father who is a godly man, but is he really his biological father? Roland is a successful businessman who longs
to marry one of the ladies he is in love with, but she doesn’t return those
feelings. Peter was raised on a farm
with his sister, and all he wants for her is a life better than she would ever
have if she remains with their abusive, drunken father.
Through scheming and deception by a couple
of these fictional personas, one of the ladies goes on board the Titanic under
the name of the other. With this plan in
place, it will make it easier for a forbidden love to really come to fruition until
Peter knocks on the door and reveals some disturbing news. Roland is worried sick that the woman he
loves, the woman who is to become his wife may be lost forever in the
Atlantic. How does he react when he sees
her living at home weeks after the disaster?
Before the ship goes under, Nathan is told by his mothers travel
companion that he has always loved Nathan. While Nathan had suspicions about
this man, there wasn’t time to dwell on anything but saving lives. Now Nathan is healed and at home with the man
who has always been his father, fighting an internal battle. Can he forgive his mother? How can his father plan a memorial service for
his mother when he knew the truth all along?
I found myself not just reading the novel,
but envisioning the various parts of the story in my imagination. With how the author describes the setting,
sights, and sounds aboard the Titanic, it isn’t hard to picture yourself
there. Even knowing how the story over
all was going to end, the gripping part was watching how much faith motivated
each action and thought in the novel. I
read Queen of the Waves in one day and even if you don’t have that time
in a lump sum to sit and take an adventure, don’t pass this one up. It is truly inspiring, engaging, gripping and
so much more.
My rating is 5 stars.
Note: I received a
complimentary copy for an honest review of this book. The opinions shared in this review are solely
my responsibility. Other reviews can be
read at http://seekingwithallyurheart.blogspot.com/
. Also follow me on Twitter
@lcjohnson1988, FaceBook at https://www.facebook.com/lisa.johnson.75457
