Book Club: Book Review of What Happens Next

 

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I share often about extremely good books. Books that I can't put down because they are page-turners. I recently had this same experience with What Happens Next by Christina Suzann Nelson. I received the book in the late afternoon and started reading it that night. By the next day, I had finished the book. Such a great novel!

"Everyone has a story, and maybe everyone needs a little help toward healing." 

What Happens Next tells the story of a popular podcaster, Faith Byrne, who is suffering. She may feature individuals on her podcast who have overcome tragedies, but she is facing a number of difficulties herself and struggling with how to overcome them. She is facing a summer without her daughters as they are going to Hawaii with her ex-husband and his new wife. She is also facing tragic news. She learns of the disappearance of Heather Crane. During the summer of 1987, Faith and her family stayed in Deep Valley. She was befriended by Heather during the summer. They were inseparable until Faith and her family moved before the start of the new school year. It was shortly after that move that Heather disappeared. And Faith was never told of her friend's disappearance. Sadly, she thought Heather refused to answer any of her letters. 

Faith is approached by Heather's older sister, Brooke, to assist in putting closure on the disappearance. Dora Crane, the girls' mother, did not handle the disappearance of her daughter well. In fact, it tore the family apart. By the present day of the book, we learn that Heather's brother, Greg, has moved away and not returned home. Heather's father, Paul, has left Dora. While Dora keeps Heather's room as it was the day she disappeared, the rest of the family is trying to move on with their lives while still being respectful of their lost family member.

We learn about Faith and Heather's friendship through flashbacks shared from Heather's point of view, as well as Faith's own memories shared with the other characters. The details are also filled in by Dora, Nathan (who had been a friend of Faith and Heather during that summer), the original detective on the case, and Faith's grandmother.

The novel is written from three different perspectives. The chapters of What Happens Next change from Faith, Dora, and Heather as we learn more and more details about the night Heather disappeared. This is done in an easy-to-follow manner as the title of the character is featured at the end of each chapter. 

What Did I Think? 

This was another book I picked based on the cover. It looks like an ideal summer day. A purple child's bicycle is tossed in the path. Perhaps its owner is enjoying a hike through the woods or a swim in the nearby stream. As a reader, you don't know that the bike belongs to Heather until many chapters into What Happens Next.

I felt that Christina Suzann Nelson provided a wonderful sense of suspense as I read from chapter to chapter. I wanted to know what happened to Heather. I felt her come to life in the book. I was eager to know if she had come to harm or had merely gone off on her own. The title of the novel is very appropriately named! 

The characters were all very believable. I felt the sorrow and agony of Dora, the hurt and pain of Paul, as well as the hope of Faith. The hope was that she would be able to help the Crane family. They made her welcome during that summer. She wanted to return the favor to them by providing closure. 

I would recommend What Happens Next to those who enjoy contemporary Christian fiction. While the characters' relationship with God was not central to the story, we can see how each reached out to God to find their way. This would make a great gift for those who enjoy mystery and suspense Christian novels. 

Read my review of More Than We Remember here: Book Review.