Scrap Everything

by Leslie Gould

Book Overview

Elise didn't want to be in the town at all-and certainly not in the scrapbooking shop... A month after Elise Shelton and her family arrive in Forest Falls, Oregon, she wanders into Rebekah Graham's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400071534
• ISBN13: 9781400071531
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Waterbrook Press
• Length: 322 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Scrapbooking woven into the lives to two women facing major changes

"'It feels like everyone else is living their perfectly normal lives while we're in survival mode, for who knows how long.' Rebekah hesitated. `Patrick said...that he felt God had forgotten us.' ... "`It's hard for me to leave this up to God. I wanted my plan to be his plan.' Rebekah paused. The truth was that she no longer had a plan, no layout in mind, no outfits to match the specially chosen designer paper, no arrangements to create a perfect album." How often have you felt something like this - like everyone else's lives are "normal", and you can barely keep your head above water? Like if everyone just paid attention and listened to you, everything would work out fine. And how often does that happen? Yeah, I have no idea what "normal" looks like, either, and I have a hard time letting things just "happen". These statements sum up one of the central themes of Leslie Gould's new novel, Scrap Everything. Much of the storyline deals with change, and how different people view it and cope with it. It's a story of faith, of learning to let go of what you cannot control, and learning to accept help from others. Scrap Everything is the story of two very different women, and their families - how they become involved in each other's lives, and how they struggle to give and accept help in times of need. Elise Shelton is an army wife with two teenage sons. With her husband's retirement from active, she and her family move to her husband's hometown, a small town in Oregon. She is not excited by the idea of living in "the best little town in the world", and is relieved by the knowledge that it's only temporary. She has no intention of settling into life in the small town, and no intention of getting involved. "Involved" could be Rebekah Graham's middle name. She throws herself whole-heartedly into every project, whether it's scrapbooking, meeting new people, or her home life. We see evidence of her obsessive nature in her thoughts of getting a part-time job or maybe opening a business. A month later, she has opened a scrapbooking store. It's at the scrapbooking store that the two characters meet. At the suggestion of her husband, Elise grudgingly attends the introductory workshop at the store. Elise immediately nicknames her "Miss Perky", mentally describing her as speaking "in italics and exclamation points..." Rebekah welcomes her into the store, and soon impulsively invites Elise to come horseback riding, even though she thinks Elise seems "awfully pretentious". She mentally compares Elise to the "popular girls" in middle school. On this note, they begin their relationship. Life doesn't go smoothly for either of these main characters. Both Elise and Rebekah endure challenging situations through the course of the book. Both need support and help to get through them. Both struggle to accept help - they both suffer from the "I-should-be-able-to-handle-it-myself" syndrome. (Can you relate?) While the book follows their day-t

I missed my bus stop

Leslie has done something that not many authors have done of late and that is keep my interest. I missed my bus stop this morning because I was so engrossed in the book and then I didn't want to put it down when my lunch hour was over. I walked home from the bus stop reading it so that I could finish it. Elise, Ted and their two teenage sons move to the small town of Forest Falls just before Ted is called back to the Army. There Elise meets Rebekah and the two form a friendship slowly and hesitantly, and support each other through crisis's large and small. Rebekah runs a scrapbook shop and deals with her daughter needing a kidney transplant, while Elise is running from her memories of the small town in which she grew up and having to deal with two teenage boys while her husband is in Germany and Iraq. Leslie has captured much of the angst and anger that teenage boys feel while their father is away, speaking from experience, my own Dad was in the Navy while I was growing up. The feelings are real and so is the behavior of the boys. RRRR

inspirational family drama

With Dr. Ted Shelton leaving the military, his wife Elise and their two sons Michael and Mark know that their nomadic lifestyle is over. The family is moving from Fort Carson, Colorado to spend some time with his father John in his hometown of Forest Falls, Oregon before moving on to Seattle at least that is Elise's thoughts; Ted thinks his hometown is the best place in the world and no one will want to leave it. In Forest falls, Elise meets scrapbook store owner Rebekiah Graham, her spouse Patrick and their two children Reid and Pepper. They become friends though the newcomer thinks a scrapbook store is so inane. Not long afterward, Ted is recalled to duty by the Third Medical Command in Fort Gillem, Georgia, which means a tour of the war zone. As she struggles to cope, her oldest son begins to get into trouble. Meanwhile Pepper, the twelve year old who has a history of kidney trouble now needs a transplant. The townsfolk rally around both families who both pray to God for miracles. Though too much is going on in the lives of the two women, readers will appreciate this inspirational family drama due to a strong cast. Elise and Rebekiah, though two diverse personalities, are fine caring people who forge a sisterhood to help them cope with the dark days ahead. Though Elise's sense of guilt re her spouse and her sons seems unrealistic and unnecessary, she and her friend find inspiration in the support of the locals and with the Lord as both begins to believe in God's message of hope. On top of all this is a reference to the best kept secret in the army: Fort Gillem. Harriet Klausner