Welcome to my point of view for Her Shining Eyes by Jeanette Morris and enter below to win your own ebook version of this riveting story!
Sometimes Pain Opens the Soul….Fourteen-year old Irina Kotova’s life as a promising violinist collapses in sync with the demise of the Soviet Union. After her father is killed in a bar fight, her ailing mother is hauled off to jail without explanation. Now considered an orphan, Irina is forced to live in a boarding school where Russia’s throwaway kids are abandoned and forgotten. Irina is constantly tormented by Vadim Solokov, a mean-spirited hooligan who takes great pleasure in reminding her that nobody cares about them. Irina is convinced he is right, and the not-so-mysterious theft of her precious violin seals her resolve to escape the school or die trying. Will she find a place to belong before bitterness destroys all her dreams?
I would love to read this because I have a close friend who came to the US in the late 80s and am so interested in Russia because of her. Hopefully I can get her to read it too.!
You will both enjoy this book, Sherry!
That would be awesome, Sherry. I am always interested in the reactions of Russians to this story.
A friend and her husband are members at the same church I am, and they adopted two children (brother and sister) from Russia. They are now 18 and 21. The older one was around 6 when they were adopted.
That is so awesome, I work with a couple who adopted a girl from Russia 14 years ago, I helped them with the tins of paperwork! She is a beautiful 16 year old today!
Hi Trudy – my story concerns two abandoned children–which happened often during the ’90s as parents could not afford to feed their kids due to the collapse of the economy. I think your friends would enjoy reading Her Shining Eyes.
Wow, I agree, this sounds like an amazing read.
My heart aches for Irina and I only read that small intro.
The unjust that lurks in our world, both then and now is hard to grasp when everything around you is “perfect.” This story is one that will open our eyes considerably.
This book is definitely going on my TBR list.
I am so glad to hear that, Betty, you are like me….I cry for the characters too!
What an encouraging endorsement, Betty! I’m grateful for your comment and your interest. Many reviewers have mentioned how their eyes and hearts were opened after reading Her Shining Eyes. Glory to God!
Loved it!
Yay, Kathy!
Thanks for your support, Kathy!
Some people think that their life is tough until you see some one else story. This sounds like a amazing story. It also makes you thank God for your life. The world is not perfect and many people suffer every day.
Amen, Dorothy! Whenever I get bogged down in my circumstances I try to realize things could be so much worse…and I pray for others who are having those struggles
You are so right, Dorothy. After over 20 trips to Russia (and other countries besides) I always return with a deeper gratitude for my relatively easy life. In writing Her Shining Eyes, I hoped to convey not just the struggles of life in post-Soviet Russia, but also the triumphs of spirit and the faith that sustained them.
“Pain sometimes opens the Soul” This hooks me! Plus, I love historical fiction: Salt to the Sea, Ruta Sepetys opened my eyes to the horrors of WWII in Prussia. I promise to read and share the book!
Thank you, Gretchen!
Thank you so much, Gretchen! I’m honored to be mentioned in the same post with Ruta Sepetys. Her stories are amazing. And I’m glad you resonated with my book’s “hook.” Looking forward to your impressions of Her Shining Eyes.
Thank you so much, Gretchen! I’m honored to be mentioned in the same post with Ruta Sepetys. Her stories are amazing. And I’m glad you resonated with my book’s “hook.” Looking forward to your impressions of Her Shining Eyes.
I have noticed as my oldest daughter has hit her teen years I am reading more & more “coming of age” stories. I started thinking they might give me insight into what my daughter might be facing. Surprisingly, I have discovered that I enjoy reading them & remembering when I was that age. First dates, first kisses, first loves…. Back when life was simple and the whole world was waiting to be discovered.
How wise you are, Erica, to get insight into the motivations and behaviors of teen through the coming of age genre. (Also one of my favorites, by the way!) We were all there once–in that awkward but curious stage of life. And sometimes, life hands us a huge challenge and we grow up rather quickly. That is the case for my protagonist, Irina. I hope you enjoy the book.
I agree with you, Erica….I have found myself enjoying them as well, and wondering why I ever wanted to grow up so fast, lol!
I would absolutely love to read your book Her Shining Eyes. I absolutely love reading about history and historical fiction books. This book really took my eye and looks like a fabulous book to read about the Russians. I love to read about how people live back years ago and during the war times especially.❣️📘🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀
Thank you, Kay! I’m sure you will enjoy the story and the history behind it. Not many know much about the decade of the 1990s in Russia. I’m glad I was able to share this difficult but significant time.
Then you will most definitely enjoy this read, Kay!
Thank you, Kay! I’m sure you will enjoy the story and the history behind it. Not many know much about the decade of the 1990s in Russia. I’m glad I was able to share this difficult but significant time.
Having two teenage granddaughters who both have a love for music. Yet Irina’s life being completely different, growing up in Russia whilst there was political turmoil. I love reading historical nonfiction gaining a new insight on events and hardships people lived through. The cover and title Her Shining Eyes gripped me and I would love to read it.
I am sure you would get a lot out of it from your perspective, Vanessa!
I hope you do read it, Vanessa! And your granddaughters as well. Irina faces several unexpected challenges that are common to teens, no matter where they live–peer pressure, isolation, boredom. How and when she eventually overcomes has inspired readers all over the world.
Historical Christian fiction is my favorite genre to read. Irina Kotova’s story sounds very compelling and captivating! Does she ever play the violin again? The thought of any child being considered disposable just breaks my heart. So many interesting components to this story! I also find the setting in Russia intriguing. Thank you for the chance to win an ebook copy of this book!
The setting in Russia is amazing, Alison… really well written! Good luck!
I’m glad to hear from readers who enjoy foreign settings as much as I do. Best of luck in the contest!
I have read the novel “Her Shining Eyes” with great interest and understanding. I agree that it is classics of the modern Christian novel since its core and penetrating idea is the triumph of spirit and the faith over any adversity. Although it is based on the historical timing of the post-Soviet Union chaos and uncertainty for its people, it could have taken place anywhere else: the U.S. penitentiary institutions, rural and God-forgotten homesteads of Arkansas, in the lives of the Louisiana-West Virginia- Mississippi-South Carolina workers living paycheck to paycheck, and so on and so forth. Anyone may find those senses of loneliness, abandonment, and endless hopelessness in themselves (at times). OR they know someone who feels like they were left behind by their families, friends, and their fortune.
I believe that this author, Jeanette Morris, has NOT created this novel to show how bad other people lives can be. She used her historical settings as a reference point of all possible human misfortunes that an individual may encounter in his/her life. That is becoming an orphan early, getting desolated by family, friends, society, experiencing extreme poverty and dire need, losing your childhood dreams, losing your trust in people, etc. All that is overcome by something Bigger, someone whom we preposterously leave behind and disregard as our Life Guardian, – God.
The novel is about finding God, through hardships of life when a person begins to feel that “God might be real”. And then he/she asks, “Help me”…(“Her Shining Eyes”).
In her novel “Her Shining Eyes”, Jeanette Morris shows how such requests are heard by Him and how the former misfortune-stricken individuals get transformed into the life-affirming overcomers, the victors, and the glorious masters of their domain.
This novel is about faith and loyalty to your friends, your hopes, God, and Yourself:)
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on this amazing story, Galina!