Mile 21 by Sarah Dunster Book Review

I used to be a runner.  I slowly worked my way up to a 5K had a great time competing in it, then was running 5 or 6 miles every Saturday; then my kids were in soccer and their games were Saturday morning when I used to run... and so yea, I used to be a runner.

I was given a copy of Mile 21 by Sarah Dunster to review.

How would you deal if your husband died after just a little over a year of marriage?  How would you move on in life?  

In Mile 21, Abish's life gets turned upside down when her husband dies after just a little over a year of marriage. She isn't quite sure what to do with her life after this tragedy and has a hard time adjusting to everyday life. When she continues to fall through on responsibilities she finds herself forced back into the single student scene and housing at BYU-Idaho.  Her trials have left her hard and sarcastic and even doubting her faith at times. 

At first I found myself having a hard time connecting with the main character and almost annoyed with her at times, but I quickly began to sympathize with her struggles and really began rooting for her and wanting things to be okay and came to like her character a lot. The book made me cry at times, it has been a while since a book has done that, but it did end with a feeling of peace and happiness. 

The book addresses how do you keep your faith and hope when everything seems to fall apart.  I know I cannot even really imagine how I would deal if Eric were to pass away.  I have thought about what I would do, as I think with some things in life you have to, you have to have a plan otherwise I think it would be impossible to function after something tragic.  

Mile 21 is definitely an LDS- novel.  It is set at BYU-Idaho and has a lot of LDS lingo and culture infused throughout. I believe anyone could appreciate and learn something from her struggles and her journey as she tries to get her life back on track but might be a little lost if you do not have at least some familiarity with the LDS culture.   If you do read it though and have any questions, I would be happy to help you figure out some of the ins and outs of the LDS culture.  

It is a quick read and a clean book that especially if you are fan of LDS fiction you will enjoy. 

Mile 21 is available to purchase at 

 Cedar Fort, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, 

You can find Sarah on Twitter @SarahGDunster

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of Mile 21 to review, all feelings and opinions are my own and truthful.