My Hands Came Away Red

One of the blogs I look at is Relz Reviewz. Sometimes I leave a comment, but mostly not. I did ask Rel once about Australian authors and she kindly responded about Lisa McKay, who wrote My Hands Came Away Red.

I requested the book from the library and it sat on the kitchen table for quite awhile, so long that I had to renew the book before I had read it. Why the delay? I knew the book would be a heavier read because of the subject. An older teen girl goes on a summer mission trip to an Indonesian island and while there tensions escalate between Christians and Muslims, putting the lives of the mission team members in jeopardy. Sometimes I just want to read fluff and I knew this book would not deliver that.

Finally I decided to just do it.

I found something the main character and I had in common. We both have experienced "boot camp" before going on a summer mission trip. As Lisa McKay described the obstacle course, I could remember back all those years to when I had to swing by rope across a ditch, climb a rope ladder, crawl through a dark maze, etc. I hated it!

I was "into" the book quickly and it flowed well. The characters were exactly as they should be, with real emotions and personalities. I could just imagine the environments the characters were experiencing. This was a very well written book.

This book did what my other favorite books have done - it caused to me think about the world beyond me.