Tracie Peterson

It is no surprise to me that the author has written a book that is a subject not written about very often where we see the human side of racism. It unfortunately is here and has become more of an issue than ever before. I will never grasp the concept of why people think that it is acceptable to belittle other nationalities, judge them, harass them, bully them and treat them less than human. We are all here because God put us here. We are to work together and become united. As you read this story you will witness the senseless hurt and shame put on a particular culture that is rich in history.

May wants to know more about her mother’s heritage and sets out to find out about the Japanese and how her mother was raised. May yearns to know the history about the Japanese and discovers some intriguing facts about herself as well. The author is known for her exquisite ability to draw historical facts into a story and create a realistic look at the time period. I was ready for my journey to begin. So here we go readers as we sit back and allow the words to paint a picture on what racism looks like and how it can change if we take the first step to stop it.

This is a beautiful story where we learn about the Japanese culture and how a young woman yearns to know her ancestors. She is faced with cruel comments and prejudice from others because of her nationality. May has a strong faith that sees her through many difficult times. It is hard not to be upset as we witness the racism people have faced in the past. I think it also reminds us that racism is still active now and we need to do better.

I loved how May and her dear friend Lee from childhood meet years later. Their friendship has latest all these years so it seemed natural for them to pick up where they left off. The author does add a bit of romance along with a mystery that keeps readers on their toes. I think this is one of the author’s best books and I highly recommend it to all readers.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.… (més)

Knowing You, by Tracie Peterson is the third book in the Pictures of the Heart series. While this is a nice stand alone story, it follows the previous books with characters, events and location so it is best to read them in order. This is a moving story that takes place in Seattle 1899. May is one of the Camera Girls and Lee is an officer stationed at the Expo. They were friends when they were young but Lee’s family moved and they no longer saw each other. May has struggled with being of mixed race while Lee grew up in a family whom hate the Japanese.

This is such a good story in that it is fast paced, with action, suspense, mystery and romance. I enjoyed that it followed through with the other girls and the camera shop owners. This story is so well written, I found it easy to get caught up in the story and was able to imagine the happenings and surrounds. I enjoyed the friendship and growing fondness Lee and May had for each other. While they were separated for years, their friendship was still there and they easily got reacquainted. It’s also enjoyable to see that May’s parents did not hold any judgement against Lee and his family even when his family held judgement against him. This is a story that shows how powerful prayer can be in healing others prejudices and helping them move forward. It is also a great story to remind the reader to help to those in need.

I voluntarily received a complimentary copy of this book, this is my honest review.… (més)

Isabella has never forgiven her parents for forcing her to move from California to New Mexico when she was 10. This story is the result of years of bitterness and misunderstandings. Tracie Peterson is very good at writing an engaging story and I enjoyed her writing style. I did not like the main character, which made it hard to root for her. Her bitterness seemed overblown. Her change of heart happened quickly, and was hard to believe. The story was interesting and I enjoyed the setting. I wish that the main character could have been more three dimensional. I would give this book 3/5 stars.… (més)

2.5 stars

The lead characters in this installment are supposedly Miranda and Teddy, but their story seemed rushed, shallow, and just a way for the author to glue together other plotlines. Their personalities are not very distinct; yet, Miranda's personality seems different from what it was in the previous books.

There's more talk in this book about characters being incomplete without a spouse.

A lot of the talk about God in this book felt forced and preachy. It was just a bit too much.

Side note: Money and jobs seem to come very easily to all these characters. I wish more authors would write about regular people.… (més)