The Amber Photograph

By Penelope J. Stokes

Book Overview

Diedre McAlister's mother is dying. But before she lets go of this life, she givers her daughter an old photograph and these parting words: "Find yourself. Find your truth. Just don't expect it to be what you thought it would be." And Now Diedre's search begins-a quest to find the only person who can provide the missing pieces, the truth. But that search will cost Diedre her naive innocence and expose her family's unknown dark side. It will shake up Diedre's world, threaten lives, bring out the shadow of her past, challenge her faith-and quite possibly save her life."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0849937221
• ISBN13: 9780849937224
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: W Pub Group
• Length: 358 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 1.0" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

The Best Book I've Read in a Long Time

I needed something to read, so I borrowed this novel from the library, thinking it would probably be just another predictable work of fiction. But Penelope J. Stokes proved me wrong- this book is absolutely outstanding!! You follow Diedre's journey to the discovery of her past and feel like you're at her side as she uncovers the clues. Even though this book deals with some very mature and scary issues, I am 15 and LOVED this book. I would recommend it to anyone who is at least 13 and read it in daylight!

Finding myself in The Amber Photograph

I am fairly new to fiction, but a friend who knows a lot about my life, asked me to read The Amber Photograph. After reading it, and never been a fan of fiction, I thought that such fiction is really truth wearing masks to protect the guilty.Anyone whose life has been damaged by rape, or if you know someone who has experienced and survived should read this book. It would be a wonderful book to give as a gift .. and what a gift of love. I am so grateful to my friend Trudy, for urging me to read it. But a word of warning, have a box of kleenix near by, or include it with your gift. The Amber Photograph has helped my own healing process, and I am grateful to the author, Penelope J. Stokes for writing it.

Past Meets Present

The Amber Photograph is an excellent read, following the Penelope Stokes standard of mixing past and present, keeping the observer guessing - where the plot of the story is concerned - but always weaving the love of Christ - and the need for HIM - so passionately into her work. This work touches on very deep concerns of today's society, but portrays real people who trust God in ALL circumstances and decisions (moral, ethical, and otherwise) of their daily lives, in contrast to those who do NOT trust God, but follow their own way, and both sow and reap consequent desolation.

A search for the truth

The Amber Photograph is every bit as riveting a novel as The Amethyst Heart and The Blue Bottle Club, but with much more depth and heart. Diedre receives a mysterious "birthday present" from her mother right before she succombs to cancer, a cigar box containing a faded photograph and anonymous letter. As Diedre examines the picture of her father and a familiar-looking girl, she realizes that this must be sister who was to have died many years ago. But then who wrote the letters? And why did her mother urge her to find the truth? What are her father and her Uncle Jack hiding? Diedre makes a literal journey cross country as well as a figurative spiritual and emotional journey as she searches for the answers to these questions. The Amber Photograph will keep you constantly wondering what will happen next, and the outcome will both please and surprise you. This is Stokes' best book yet.

The Truth Revealed

I fell upon this book by chance, not really knowing what it was about, but after reading the first chapter I was hooked and couldn't put it down. It kept me on the edge of my seat and always left me wondering what came next. When the mystifying truth was revealed I was very bewildered. Penelope J. Stokes never gives up on the fact of letting the truth be known. Diedre McAlister was given a old photograph on her 25 birthday from her mother, who was dying of cancer. That photograph of someone in her family led her to find the real truth about herself. The truth leads her to a startling discovery. The characters were fictional, but real in every sense. They were not perfect and I'm sure many people could relate to the same pain the charachters went through. I throughly enjoyed this book and would recomend it to anyone needing an uplifting, heartwarming, resurrecting story to read!