"I want to write stories that keep readers turning the pages. And I will strive in the telling to be transparent about the truths and shadows in this world and hope to reflect the light of Christ calling us to Him.
"One of my favorite scriptures is 'I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living,'" (Psalm 27:13).
Jeana Kendrick
BOOKLIFE PRIZE REVIEW : THE LAST BRIDGE ACROSS MOSTAR
Kendrick's ambitious plot follows Katrina Winslow, an American living in 1990s Bosnia, as she struggles to take care of a group of refugee orphans following a raid that killed their caretakers--and Katrina's fellow Americans . . . As Katrina wades through the waters of war--and the accusation that she's functoning as a spy--she must learn who she can and can't trust, all while experiencing a personal metamorphosis from unfettered to driven by a special purpose.
Flashbacks add depth to the story, and Kendrick delivers plenty of background to structure the history behind the novel . . .
Kendrick strikes a nice balance between historical perspectives and character-driven moments, allowing readers a glimpse into an important period for Bosnia alongside a cast of deeply engaging, appealing characters who undergo believable transformations.
Katrina's musings and reflections on how her world changes are engaging and intuitive, speaking to a larger context of destructive hate and discrimination. Her gradual understandingof the motivations driving the war in Bosnia is mirrored in the way her relationship with Lucien Brezac changes throughout the novel, and the readers will be swept into their story as their mission merges into one.
Jeana's short stories are in Fall From Innocence, Page One Publications, and in Suddenly, Suddenly II and Suddenly IV, Martin House, and her articles appear in the Door of Hope Magazine and other places.