The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver

I usually measure how much I like a book by how much it makes me feel - whether it is humorous, sad, exciting, etc. And although this book started a tad slow, once it began, I really did get involved emotionally. It was creatively written, told from the perspective of four daughters and their mother, who are dragged into the heart of the Congo by their father, a Baptist evangelical minister, hell bent on converting all of Africa.

I loved seeing the story through each of their eyes as they slowly adjusted to their new life in Africa, and it was a great way to see the underlying relationships the girls had to each other, their father, and their mother. It was heartbreaking at times, but I loved the story and the sad history that I learned from it. The only reason I did not give this book five stars, was because the last 100 pages lost all the magic and emotion. The climax had been reached earlier, and it seemed to drag after that. It was a fantastic book though.  I give it 4.5 stars and a PG-13 rating for violence, etc.