The Bunko Babes

By Leah Starr Baker

Bunko Babes is a celebration of faith and friendship! Packed with witty dialogue, unforgettable characters, and a storyline rich with surprises. It will warm your heart and makeyou laugh, as you... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0978513754
• ISBN13: 9780978513757
• Release Date: November 2007
• Publisher: White Stone Books
• Length: 377 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.5" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A compelling, well written work

It is May 2006, 6:16 PM, Thursday. Hurrying around the house; the speaker is preparing for a weekly Bunko night. Becca and Thomas have been married for fifteen years. They are parents of thirteen year old twins, Robert and Brooklyn. Thirty-seven year old Rebecca -Becca- Thornton is a move it, hide it but not inevitably a clean it up type housekeeper. The author says in her opening: The game of Bunko isn't necessarily about dice and door prizes. Rather it is about fun, food, and fellowship, and the taking time out of our unbelievably busy lives to come together, once a week or once a month, to reconnect with our community of friends. When this particular Bunko crowd begins to appear at Becca and Thomas' home we get together with several of Oklahoma inhabitant Becca Thornton's acquaintances. There is Becca's best friend Jessica Goldstein and calamari toting, Prada clothed Madison Monroe. Jessica's newlywed, pregnant, half sister Kathleen Stone, nicknamed Kitty Kat is among the group as is left over flower child Autumn Levitt, mother of eight who homeschools and is into organic foods, home birth and homeopathic foods. R. N. Karen Jones who works at St Francis Hospital, Mercedes Wallace from Argentina, and newest member of the group Michelle Black round out the members of the Bunko group. The narrative moves the reader into the talk and foodstuff that accompanies a Bunko evening, and proceeds into the heart ache felt by one woman who has discovered she will not ever be able to have children. The reader is brought face to face with the dread another woman must face during a life threatening medical problem. Camping trips, teen angst, toilet training, recipe ideas, these women face the many of the issues as do most wives and mothers. As does many women, Becca Thornton loves her husband and children nevertheless she craves some time with women friends as well. It was with the assistance of three close friends, that Becca begins the weekly Bunko group. The women thought the group would present some enjoyable visiting, and talking time. The women little realized at the start that they would eventually come to depend upon one another in more depth than they any of them had ever realized. The women come to depend upon each other to find the power and faith they require to face calamity and upsets in their lives. Set in Tulsa, Oklahoma, The Bunko Babes is Christian fiction based on the first person reflections of wife, mother, friend, Becca Thornton. Well developed characters are nicely fleshed, have all the foibles, idiosyncrasy, shortcomings and faults as do we all. Becca is abruptly taken aback to be told that her recently widowed mother, plans to remarry. Kids perform as kids pretty much do everywhere. Marriage, hidden secrets, unfaithfulness, infirmity, pregnancy, battles of faith, in addition to wellbeing, divorce, betrayal, tears and laughter along with the speaker's own bond with God are all part of the book as they are part of life itself.

Great Read!

I suppose the first thought at picking up this book is that it will be a light-hearted chick-lit read, but this baby has much more substance than that. Inside the pages of this book we interact with Becca and seven of her closest friends. Each week they come together to play "Bunko," but more happens than just enjoying a game. The ladies share their hearts, souls and very lives with each other, forming bonds that they will use to help each other in both good and bad times in their lives. The characters were real and quickly I found myself involved in the parts of their lives that our author allowed us to share. Friendships past and present, lost loves, new loves, hidden secrets, betrayal,and struggles against sickness all became interwoven within the group as they battled inward demons and outward circumstances. Becca's inward battle with issues of faith, her own relationship to God, and her testimony as a Christian added much to the read. I found this book to be very enjoyable. It stirred inside me emotions from laughter to tears as I shared in the lives of these women. I found a great mix of unfailing love and friendship and the essence of what life is all about. I recommend this to every woman. Very well done.

Hot new voice in Christian Fiction

The Bunko Babes is a winner! Any author can write an exciting page turner if the subject is mystery or adventure but it takes a real talent to make the ordinary stuff we all deal with not only interesting but intriguing. Leah Baker does this as well as anyone I've read in a long time and I'm a voracious reader. The characters are well developed and believable and the story is filled with a number of poignant surprises. I laughed and I cried and at the end I wanted to stand up and cheer. It was that good! Get a copy for yourself and one for your friends. They will love you for it. I can't wait for the next offering from this stunning new talent. G. Robert James

Go Bunko for Bunko Babes

A real page-turner that leaves the reader satisfied. Leah Starr Baker is a great new voice in Christian fiction.

New Found Friends

The Bunko Babes sounds light and fun without much substance but boy, was I surprised. The book sucks you in and you feel like you are sitting on the couch with a bunch of girl friend's you have known forever. Entertaining and moving is a difficult balance to achieve but Leah Star Baker manages to do just that. One minute you are laughing but turn the page and you will need a box of Kleenex. It is refreshing how honest and real these women are. The issues the Babes face are the same struggles that you and I face on a daily basis. Infertility, infidelity, chronic illness or just plain exhaustion from life in general, there isn't a single topic not addressed with honesty and humor. I highly recommend this novel and look forward to many more stories from Leah Star Baker. I can only hope that future books will include my new friends, the Babes. The Bunko Babes