Katt's in the Cradle: A Secrets from Lulu's Cafe Novel

by Ginger Kolbaba and Christy Scannell

Book Overview

When you're in the trenches, sometimes you're up to your neck in mud. That's the not-so-glamorous life of a pastor's wife.

Felicia's family is...complicated. That's putting it nicely. Now they're flying in from LA -- all at once -- to stay with her...just when her brother-in-law, Javier, and Mama aren't even speaking to each other. And the whole church will be there to witness the feud.

Mimi has a lot on her mind with her four...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416543899
• ISBN13: 9781416543893
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: Howard Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

What's a Pastor's Wife to Do?

It's time to head back to Lulu's Cafe and meet up again with the ladies of the Pastors Wives Club. The story is once again a mixture of humor and seriousness and the four women tackle their own personal problems as well as those coming from their church families. It's a bit strange not have have Kitty around, making snide remarks and thinking she is holier than everyone else. However, not to fear, as her husband has remarried a younger Kitty-clone who seems to share too much info about what goes on in the bedroom. The two stories I found to be most interesting this time around were Jennifer's and Lisa's. It's interesting because throughout the entire series, these two women have been my favorite with the most intriguing story lines. Jennifer's story had a mystery surrounding it plus it was nice to see Father Scott again. Lisa's story was highly emotional and extremely frustrating. From the beginning of the series, I've never liked their congregation and this book just solidified my views on them. Her family was very brave and strong to stick through the conflict. Lesser souls would have caved but they did not. Mimi's story involving her dad will probably ring true for some readers who have dealt with alcoholic family members. It's heart wrenching to see someone constantly hurt themselves and there's nothing you can do to stop them. I unfortunately did not find Felicia's story to be very interesting. It almost felt as if the authors felt like they had run out of story ideas for her character and just threw something together. There's nothing wrong with her situation but it just felt rather boring compared to the other three. There was a lack of drama or conflict. I did enjoy the scenes where all the pastor's wives in the area got together and finally realized that it was ok to become real with one another and share their burdens. It's sad how much pressure people put on pastor's wives and other members of the family simply because they are related to preacher. Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was an extremely fast read for me and I'm sorry that the series has ended. Reading this series has broadened my outlook on the family's of pastors and given me more compassion and understanding towards them. We shouldn't put them on a pedestal or have such high expectations on them. They are human beings just like the rest of us and should be treated as such. I really recommend this entire series for both a fun read and a learning experience at the same time.

Katt's in the Cradle

Katt's in the Cradle Secrets from Lulu's Cafe Series Ginger Kolbaba & Christy Scannell 2009 Howard Books A Division of Simon and Schuster ISBN-13: 978-1-165-4389-3 Fiction/Christian/General 5 stars Reviewed by Cindy Loven Four PW's (pastor's wives) meeting secretly at Lulu's Cafe, 40 miles from their hometown for 3 years, is the beginning and setting of this wonderful book. Four women who form a fast friendship, through their monthly pastor's wife meetings, who lean on each other during the good times and bad. And as pastor's wives, the bad times often outweigh the good. Meet Lisa, Jennifer, Felicia and Mimi as they struggle through the day to day life of living in the spotlight of ministry. Lisa's family is under attack, Jennifer is being followed, Mimi is taking care of her alcoholic father, and Felicia is in the middle of a expanding the family decision. Each PW, different in personality, but strong in their faith, reaching out to others and each other along the way. Mentoring a young new PW, Allison Katt (called Ally by her friends), the PW's find humor and they also find closeness with other ministry wives. A wonderfully, realistically written book gives everyone a glimpse of the lives of ministry families, their struggles, their fears, their hopes and their realness. A great book, with humor and sadness along the way. Though a part of a series, and the allusion to a previous story, this book stands alone, without having read the other story. It does, however make you want to read that other story. I give this book a 5 star rating. 305 pages [...]

An Entertaining Read

I recently finished Katt's in the Cradle, by Ginger Kolbaba and Christy Scannell. I found it to be a delightful and lighthearted read. There are two previous books in this series, Secrets from Lulu's Café. I have not had the opportunity to read either of those, but that didn't stop me from enjoying and understanding this one. This book follows the lives and friendship of four Pastor's Wives. It certainly shows us that Pastor's wives are real people too, with real problems, real issues and real joys. It also is wonderful at portraying very real and deep friendships without getting hung up on denominational differences. The characters are entertaining and believable. The four PW's secretly meet in a little out of the way diner, where they can talk and support each other freely, without fear of being overheard or interrupted by any of their church members. The story flows well and kept me interested throughout. It also reminded me of the importance of good friends and further, that we all need a safe harbor when the storms of life come. I would recommend it to anyone, but specifically to those of us who regularly attend or belong to a church - it just might help you to see your own Pastor's wife differently, and more compassionately.

entertaining character driven tale

In Red River, knowing they always must be on super exemplary behavior, the four pastors' wives desperately meet once a month for a couple hours at Lulu's café figuratively as a MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH to share what they cannot with others. The quartet has an opportunity to release emotions as they let their respective hair down. Felicia Lopez-Morrison's family is flying in from L.A. to help her though she prefers they stay home. Their feud is not endearing and could cause problems for her spouse Dave with their First Baptist Church congregation. Mimi Plaisance's alcoholic father has joined the overcrowded household already including his daughter, her spouse Mark and their four preadolescent kids. He refuses to abide by the house rules causing conflict with his family and the neighbors. Jennifer Shore feels sandwiched as she struggles with being a mother to her adopted eleven month old baby at a time when her mother suffering from bi-polar is mentally deteriorating. She balances all that while working part-time at the Red River Community Church where her husband Sam is pastor. Parents of two teens, Lisa and her husband Joel are caught in a church feud that looks ready to split the flock of the Red River Assembly God apart. Once again the quartet meets to release some tension and reduce stress caused by being DESPERATE PASTORS' WIVES sharing with one another (and readers) their trials and tribulations. Rotating perspective over the month of April between the four women, fans will gain insight as to how a pastor's wife sees their role especially from inside the fish bowl with the flock outside looking in at them. Once again well written, the latest lunch at Lulu's Café is an entertaining character driven tale that is more a series of vignettes than a novel, but fun and informative as talking to peers drowning in a similar sea helps keep a person afloat. Harriet Klausner

Slow start GREAT finish!

Disclaimer: I am a man and this is a book for women. I do, however, read quite a lot of books which were written for women. I find they help me relate to my wife and other women better. Most of the novels I read are either fantasy, crime or women's romance. `Katt's in the Cradle' falls into none of those categories, it's more of a soap-opera in book form and I have to admit I struggled with its style a little at first. Looking back, there were two reasons for my struggle: 1) The book tells the story of four Pastor's wives (PW's) and their daily struggles. The PW's meet up occasionally for lunch but apart from that their stories hardly intersect. It's like reading four books at once. Being male, as I am, I am fairly visual so interchanging between the four stories from chapter to chapter was hard without visual reminders as to who was who and which story I was reading. It would work well for me as a TV show but didn't work so well in book form. 2) This is the third book in a series and, while the writers did an OK job of introducing the characters and setting the scene, I felt as if I was joining in part way through. It took me a few chapters to really become immersed in the story and grasp who the different characters were. At about the half-way point I was beginning to dread having to write this review. The book was OK and I'm sure that if I was female I would have been enjoying it more but, apart from brief make-you-think-and-evaluate-your-own-relationships moments every now and then, it was really nothing to shout about. Nothing, that is, until the stories all began to reach their climax at which point I LOVED the book. Really, I did. It became a book that I just didn't want to put down. `Katt's in the Cradle' teaches great lessons about mother-child relationships, father-child relationships, family dynamics, pastor-family relationships, church-pastor relationships... you get the drift. Basically, the book is packed full of great lessons if you just look for them and they are all delivered with both humor and deep emotion. I would fully recommend `Katt's in the Cradle' to: Pastor's wives - you'll probably really empathize with the PW's Pastors - it will probably help you understand your wife a little better Church members - it will give you a greater appreciation for your Pastor and his wife Everyone else - it's a great book to read. I am so glad that the book really improved from a weak start and therefore I can genuinely say I can recommend it. Women will probably appreciate it much more than men, but let me tell you guys, I think you'll find it worth taking the time and effort to read `Katt's in the Cradle`.