Review: Fantastic Sequel!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 7, 2011
No Other was an incredible debut novel by Shawna Williams, and I gave it the highest rating. Her second book, In All Things, which continues the Wilheimer family saga, is even more impressive. I didn't think this was possible after loving No Other. The Wilheimer story resumes ten years later in this second book. Meri and Jakob are raising their three children in California because Meri's dream of wanting to be an actress became true. Her Hollywood name is Meredith Louis. Jakob is a successful architect, and although Jakob's kept his promise to Roger that Meri would achieve what she wanted, it has been at a big cost.Shawna does a magnificent job of creating characters, so real that I felt like I personally knew each one as well as my own friends.  Her characterization and story remind me of Shakespeare's play, As You Like It, when Jacques says,"All the world's a stage,And all the men and women merely players;They have their exits and their entrances,And one man in his time plays many parts,His acts being seven stages."Life is like a play and we have to go through the numerous stages of acting it out. Meri has to play many parts in real life and in the movies. She sometimes feels resentful of Jakob's attitude about her movie career. Juggling so many roles as husband, father, and architect becomes difficult for Jakob. He tries to hold the family together as they live such a different lifestyle than he experienced as a child.Jakob's problems start when his pride is more important than putting first what God wants for his life with Meri. Jakob becomes obsessed with fulfilling his promise to Roger. Several of their problems are a result of Jakob and Meri having sex before marriage. In Jakob's case, he wanted to move away from his hometown and his close-knit family after he falters as a Christian. Meri was embarrassed about being pregnant before they got married, so she also wanted to escape hearing people talk about her. Jakob felt a strong need to make it up to Meri for taking her virginity before marriage, so he wants to make her dream of becoming an actress come true.Shawna gave so much depth to Jakob's choices as a husband, father, and brother. Jakob's pride and mistakes had a bad effect on his sister Esther. I liked how Shawna showed how Esther felt so abandoned by Jakob. He had been more than an older brother to Esther. He replaced their ill father in many ways to the child Esther. When Jakob left Esther to have a life with Meri in Hollywood, Esther no longer had Jakob's immediate love and care. She dated the worst guy and didn't care about living the life God wanted for her.In All Things made me examine my own life as a Christian. I could relate more to Jakob because he wanted to fix everything in Meri's life and didn't follow and listen to God in the beginning of the book. I do the same thing. In the past, I try to go it alone and fix everything for everyone. When I let go of my control and listen to God, I'm at peace and realize He needs to be in control.  It's beautiful to read the Christian growth of Meri and Jakob in this book.The details about how Hollywood producers and directors operated and managed their actors lend a realistic feel to the whole book. I highly recommend In All Things because it's an awesome book!