We found this book to be shallow and unrealistic, which was very disappointing since we went into it so hopeful. Even after getting past the downright comical number of times that EVERYONE uses the phrase "Good grief!", we felt like SO much more could have been done with these characters. Gabby's husband Phillip doesn't have a decent bone in his body (how did she ever end up with him to begin with?) and her children are nothing short of awful...all gambling and drinking seems reason to raise a red flag...all wealthy people are cold and do no charity work...all good intentions are rewarded...all homeless people have good hearts and want to be helped...there were no exceptions to these illustrations AND there were no bumps in Gabby's road paved with good intentions. Not to mention that, despite Phillip's horrible character, Gabby brings on almost all of her problems herself. She never stands up to him in matters of their children or her job or her mother or even her own safety and/or comfort! She seems to just accept the fact that working in a shelter is somehow an embarrassment. Not to mention that, if every time you schedule something, your husband calls with alternate plans that automatically trump yours, WHY wouldn't you immediately clear the schedule with him BEFORE announcing it to the shelter folks?? And we had a hard time feeling any sympathy for this woman who lets her husband push her around when her mother so clearly is in a dangerous situation (i.e. living unsupervised)...it seemed to be written to make it seem like this poor woman just couldn't get a break, but she brought on almost all of her problems herself...and then does nothing but whine about them in prayer.

We were also very annoyed that there is no resolution to anything in the end-- everything is just left up in the air. A novel is supposed to be complete in and of itself, even if it is a sequel or prompts a sequel. To Be Continued maybe...but not by us. Good grief indeed!