"The Light on Halsy Street" by Vanessa Miller is a beautifully crafted coming-of-age story that transcends time, taking readers on a journey through the streets of Brooklyn, New York. Through masterful storytelling, Miller weaves together the lives of two girls, Lisa Whitaker and Dana Jones, whose destinies become forever intertwined during the summer of 1985.

The novel opens with a snapshot of Lisa, a church kid with dreams of college and a scholarship to pave her way. In stark contrast, her best friend, Dana, is struggling, caught in the tumultuous wake of her mother's frequent evictions. Miller's vivid descriptions instantly transport readers to the gritty yet vibrant streets of Brooklyn, setting the stage for the transformative events that will unfold.

What stands out in this novel is the authenticity of the characters. Lisa's determination and resilience, coupled with Dana's longing for a brighter future despite her challenging circumstances, make them relatable and endearing protagonists. As their paths diverge, Miller skillfully delves into the complexities of their lives and the choices they make, drawing readers deeper into their emotional journeys.

Fast forward fifteen years, and the characters have evolved in unexpected ways. Lisa finds herself on the brink of realizing her dreams, with a beautiful family and a promising career. However, her life takes a sharp turn when she becomes a victim of identity theft, leading to a gripping narrative filled with suspense and intrigue. The portrayal of Lisa's struggles and her relentless pursuit of justice is both heart-wrenching and empowering.

Meanwhile, Dana's own journey takes her from the shadows of her past to a newfound belief in brighter days. Miller sensitively explores themes of forgiveness and redemption as the story unravels the betrayals that have haunted their friendship since that fateful summer in Bed-Stuy. The depth of emotion and the complexity of human relationships are expertly depicted, leaving readers reflecting on their own experiences and relationships.

Vanessa Miller's writing shines in this inspirational Christian fiction novel. Her ability to seamlessly blend faith, community, and the enduring power of friendship into the narrative adds depth and resonance to the story. It's a testament to her skill as a storyteller that she can tackle weighty themes with such grace and authenticity.

"The Light on Halsy Street" is a stand-alone novel that leaves an impression. It's a story of resilience, forgiveness, and the enduring bonds of friendship that can withstand the test of time. Vanessa Miller's masterful storytelling and her ability to infuse spirituality into the narrative make this a must-read for fans of inspirational fiction. This book is a shining example of how literature can uplift the soul and leave a profound impact on the reader. Highly recommended for anyone seeking a heartfelt and thought-provoking read. I give this book 4 stars.

Thank you to the author Vanessa Miller publishers Thomas Nelson, and TLC Book Tours for an advance paperback copy of THE LIGHT ON HALSEY STREET. Thank you also to NetGalley for an accomanying widget. All views are mine.

For me, this beautiful story about grace, faith, and friendship really comes together in the second half!

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. This is a really brilliant concept. A young black woman gets out of prison, starts a business, and builds herself back in from nothing. Pick me for that story!

2. I love that Dana repeatedly helps her mother, long after many people would cut her out of their lives. And it isn't about forgiveness, necessarily, or expecting more from her mother "this time." It’s about Dana being able to extend her mother grace.

3. I don't know yet where this book is going...it gets really twisty and full of wonderful conflict at the 2/3 point.

4. Not sure if the writers means this straight but she really reveals the lack of sympathy society has for the poor, the addicted, and the criminal, even the reformed, such as here: Lisa had been victimized by Dana’s senseless act of identity theft, but didn’t people realize Dana had spent a lifetime being victimized by poverty and her mother’s drug abuse? Who would cry for her? It wasn’t so cut-and-dry as “the rich lady stole from someone.” Her back had been against the wall, and she had been trying to survive. But no one cared . . . No one would ever care about her pain. Tears ran down Dana’s face. She would never escape her past. She would forever be the Dana from Halsey Street and Lewis Avenue— the Dana with a drug-addicted mother and a criminal boyfriend. She would always be the lady who committed identity theft, and she didn’t know if she could face another day with the whole world pointing fingers at her. loc. 2375.
Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. Skips too much time and content in big chunks in the middle of the narrative using summary. Dana had spent several months putting in applications but not receiving any callbacks. Dana knew she would have to do something different. So she signed up for cosmetology school and finally found a job as a waitress. After cosmetology school, the struggle was still real , so after thinking long and hard about it, Dana decided to do something drastic to change her circumstances. loc. 984

2. The business sounds so unrealistic, as well as Dana's professional story after she leaves prison. While she had her salon, Dana had experimented with her own brand of hair-care products. She developed a shampoo, conditioner, and hairgrowing grease, and they worked. So Dana used the money she earned from selling off the inventory and furniture in her salon before it closed down to purchase the supplies needed to brand her own hair-care line: jars, lids, labels, a computer, and the ingredients needed for the shampoo, conditioner, and hair grease. Then she wore out several pairs of shoes walking the blocks, introducing herself to salon owners. She even knocked on doors and gave out samples of her hair grease to parents who had little girls whose hair would dry out and stop growing without the right hair grease. Dana had business cards made up, and soon she was receiving orders for her products. Business had gotten so good she now needed to hire help, but it wasn’t good enough for her to be able to afford the help. loc. 991

3. The formatting is inconsistent. Sometimes past action is indicated with italics, but sometimes the italics is applied to present tense action and dialogue also.

Ratings:
Cover: 4.5
Concept: 4.6
Character Work: 4
Settings / World Work: 4.2
Narrative: 3.8
Pacing: 3.5
Plot / Logic: 3.7
Ending: 5
Steam: n/a
Style: 4.4
Overall Rating: 4.18

Dana and Lisa are 18-year-old friends growing up in BedStuy in 1985. A series of events takes their lives on divergent paths, then brings them back together again. The Light on Halsey Street takes readers across decades of growing up and beautifully shows how God sanctifies us through the years.

I loved the themes of friendship, redemption, forgiveness, and taking responsibility for one’s actions. I also noticed some similarities to the Prodigal Son story, which kept the narrative from being too one-sided in regards to “good” vs. “bad.” Every person has sin they have to be forgiven of, and failing to realize that only leads to bitterness and a hard heart.

If you’re looking for a wholesome, heartwarming story that lends itself to some healthy soul-searching, this book is for you. Fans of Karen Kingsbury, Kim Cash Tate, and Francine Rivers are likely to enjoy this wonderful story.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for the advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.

I've pondered for days what I'd write in my review of "The Light on Halsey Street" and am still not sure how to share my thoughts.

Conflicted would be a good start. I've read plenty of Christian fiction and am an avid reader of women's fiction of which this book ticks all boxes. I also love edgy fiction dealing with real-life struggles, in-your-face situations and characters triumphing over adversity. This book has the real-life factor in spades... but I failed to connect with either of the leading ladies until the final 15% of the book (and I didn't appreciate the ending).

The story was slow in many parts and took me 10 days to read (I usually take up to 3 days to read a book). I wanted to give up at many points but pushed myself to read it because it was an advanced copy and I had hoped to blog about this book. But it's difficult to write a "read this!" post when you preferred the personalities of the main characters' husbands over the women themselves.

Both Dana and Lisa made some unwise decisions, behaved in ways I'd hope never to behave - especially as a Christian - and were not the sort of women I would choose to be my friend. I actually disliked them both more around the 75% mark than I had when I'd wanted to give up at the 25% mark.

I enjoyed the background story - the struggles of growing up in a drug-affected community, the fun and colloquial language many characters shared. But I never understood Dana's relationship with Vida, so I didn't get why she threw everything away like her mum had. I struggled with the volatile emotions of the main characters which, many times, seemed to come out of thin air. I did sympathise with the unjust "wrongs" against both women, but then they'd react in an extreme way and frustrate me.

I guess my disappointment lies in finishing this story and still having my emotions intact. I had expected something else from the blurb I read, maybe a story that would "break" me like Amanda Dykes's "Yours Is the Night" did last month.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The writing is so bad that it was impossible to get interested in the storyline. Skip this book and save your money.

This book pulled at my heart strings. Dana and Lisa grew up friends on the same street. Lisa an only child had a loving Mom and Dad and Grandpa. Dana had a drug addicted Mom who really did not pay much attention to Dana. She was always looking for her next high. Dana ends up with the wrong group of kids and ends up in jail for 3 years for stealing. She is determined to make something of her life when she gets out of prison. Lisa, goes to college, gets married, has a child and moves back into her childhood home after her Mom dies to take care of her Dad. She is working and helping people like she always wanted to. She is on the verge of getting her dream job when she finds out that she is the victim of identity theft and because she has defaulted on loans through no fault of her own, loses the job offer. Dana on the other hand becomes a millionaire selling hair care products for people of color. Her business takes off, she finds the man of her dreams and all is good, until....
The story is great and has a lot going on with family, love, bitterness, betrayal and redemption. It will have you laughing and crying. I do have to say though, it is very heavy on religion and God. I don't mind having that in a book but there is a lot of it.
Thanks to #netgalley, #thomasnelson and @authorvanessamiller for an ARC of this book

The Light on Halsey Street by Vanessa Miller is my fourth title by Miller and she is such a remarkable writer.
I could not put this down, I was so captivated at the story.
The writing was realistic and characters are flawed but real. I really enjoyed this book and was hooked after the first few chapters.
This heartfelt story of friendship, a sense of community, betrayal, and unforgiveness was an beautifully told tale.
I’m a big fan of Vanessa Miller and I always look forward to a new Women's Fiction story.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I'm not quite sure what I expected from this book... but I know I can certainly say that it was quite different than what I got! Right away it quickly took on a quite serious tone--- more so than what I was expecting with talk of drugs and such. I think based on the cover, I expected it to be a slightly lighter growing up story than it was, though that certainly wasn't a bad thing at all...just different than anticipated.

This story covers the span of decades, alternating between POVs of these two friends and occasionally flashing back to something that had happened in the past. I must admit that there were a few times where I had to take a moment to figure out who was who and where were we in the story, as POV seemed to change abruptly on occasion. That definitely could have been more of a me thing though. Still, despite that, I found this story to be very well done. I found myself drawn into these characters lives even when I wasn't agreeing with the decisions that they were making, and more than a few times found myself tearing up too. It was a beautiful story of friendship, growing up and forgiveness with beautiful messages of faith weaved in.

**I received a complimentary copy for consideration. All opinions are my own.

Full Circle

The story started very slow for picking up midway through. A good story line, at certain point s I had to re-read, a sentence, pargraaph, or chapter.

Just out of high school Lisa, Jasmine, and Dana are looking forward to the future, each taking a diffrent route. Also dealing with family issues, a controlling father, a mother with a drug addiction, and a family who could care less. Two decades later the path they each took from Halsey street, brings the back to Halsey street.

I enjoyed the references in the story to African American actors, heros, and politicans. There are several scenes in the story that brought me to tears.

Thank you NetGalley, Thomas Nelson Publishers, and Vanessa for an advance copy above is my honest review.

I really enjoyed this wholesome story about Lisa and Dana and how their lives stay intertwined from the moment they meet in 1st grade. They live in the same neighborhood but have very different home lives. Lisa has married parents that go to church every Sunday. Dana has a single mom who is an addict, and they are constantly getting evicted. This leads to Dana hanging out with the wrong crowd but Lisa is still on the fringes. This story starts in 1985, jumps 10 years, then jumps 10 more years and tells the story for each decade. It's a story of community, loyalty, friendship, family, addiction, forgiveness, and so much more. Highly recommend this one!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely

Sadly I didn’t love this book, which was a shame as it has lots of great ingredients- strong characters, an interesting plot and a good message. I think it’s the last point which marred the book for me - though I appreciated the Christian message, like a lot of Christian fiction it felt too preachy and forced.

I also wasn’t entirely sure who the target audience was - at the start it seemed YA but the later sections were more adult.

GENERAL INFO- The Light on Halsey Street

Year Pub/Re Pub: 9/5/23, read 8/21/23

Book's cover: captures NYC stoop days.

Format: Kindle

Source: Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishing for this ARC. I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Page Count: 363

Setting: Brooklyn, NY

Genre: Christian Fiction, Women's Fiction

Tropes: friendship, church/community, coming of age

Standalone/Cliffhanger/Part of a Series: standalone

HEA/HFN ending: HEA for Dana

Epilogue Included: no

Character(s)POV Spoken: 3rd person

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Synopsis/Plot Summary:
Two girls’ lives are forever connected in the summer of 1985 in Brooklyn, New York. Lisa Whitaker is a deacon's kid headed to NYU on a scholarship. Her best friend, Dana Jones is stressed out with her mother Vida and their latest eviction. They both make choices and their lives veer in opposite directions. Fifteen years later, Lisa has a family and is starting her dream job as the director for a social services organization. And Dana's got her life together w/ a family after paying her dues to society. When the betrayal of their friendship comes to light, it takes God, prayer time, and forgiveness to repair it.

M/F-M/M-M/M/F-etc: M/F relationships, but F/F friendship

Contains Cheating: no

Contains Children: yes, both heroines are 18/ just graduated high school when the book opens.

Flashbacks: Part I is when they are 18 in 1985 and there's a time jump Part 2 & 3 15+ years later

Jealy/Possy/OTT H/h : yes, I think they both were jealous of each other in different stages of their lives.

Amount of Sex In The Book: none

Overall Smex Rating: n/a

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION

Heroine: Lisa Whitaker Coleman

Heroine Description: looking towards her future, had both parents involved in her life. Has a stable home, well provided for, and has a great sense of responsibility.

Heroine Likability Rating: 4

Heroine: Dana Jones

Heroine Description: Forced to grow up too fast, has seen her single mother struggle w/ drugs/bills/men.

Heroine Likability Rating: 3

Secondary characters: Brenda & David Whitaker-Lisa's parents; Vida Jones-Dana's mother; Derrick-Dana's boyfriend; Jasmine Parks-their high school friend; John-Lisa's husband; Jeff-Dana's husband; Kennedy-Lisa's daughter

H /h RELATIONSHIP INFO
Endearments: n/a

OW/OM/Exes: n/a

Cheating Before/During/Outside H/h Relationship: n/a


CONTENT WARNINGS/TRIGGERS
drug overdose, alcoholism, robbery, h has illness/disability

AUTHOR OVERVIEW
Vaneesa Miller

New or read before & any favorites: new author but I have What We Found in Hallelujah and Something Good loaded into my kindle.

PERSONAL OVERVIEW

Technical/Editing Quality: 4, the PDF went a little wonky when I sent it to my kindle.

Writing/Content Quality: 4

Overall Rating: 4

Do You Recommend This Book: yes

Will You Re-read This Book: yes

Would You Read More Books by this Author: yes

COMMENTS/NOTES:
It was a little preachy, but I endured. I'm not a big fan of "Christian Fiction" but the storytelling, sense of nostalgia and NYC as a character kept me interested.

I'm a fan of Vanessa Miller. I enjoyed this jaunt into the past. The 80's Brooklyn aspects held my attention, but more than that, the story of these women was powerful. As always, Miller had me examining myself and my choices and in this novel...my privilege.

Meh. This was fine. I was unimpressed and underwhelmed. It wasn't horrible, but certainly nothing special.

I really enjoyed this coming of age story about two women from the same city who grow up with very different lives and choices, I really liked seeing how their stories merged in the second half of the book- really well written and very realistic

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an early copy of The Light on Halsey Street by Vanessa Miller]

For anyone looking for an inspiring story of how someone can ultimately cease seeking revenge and embrace reconciliation, The Light on Halsey Street by Vanessa Miller is an appropriate read.

Lisa and Dana have known each other since early elementary school, and on their first meet, Lisa shared her lunch with Dana. Their family lives are completely disparate: Lisa is part of an intact, strict and church-going family; Dana never met her father, and her mother is a drug addict. Dana's witnessing the death of a young thief on a job which indirectly involves Dana is the catalyst for misery and stress both for Dana and Lisa.

Through the hardships of both of their lives, the women never stop thinking of each other though there has been no contact for many years.

The book does have a certain unevenness within the storytelling. For example, when Dana is sentenced to many hours of community service for identity theft, there is no mention of the effect this work has on her. Considering where she has come from and the life she has built, lessons should have been learned by serving others.

The book also has a strong religious presence which will appeal to certain readers.

Absolutely stunning. I read it in one sitting. I cried. I smiled. My heart broke and my heart healed. The Light on Halsey Street by Vanessa Miller is the story of two friends in Brooklyn and how life shapes and changes them. And how God’s plan is bigger and better than any of our own. Thank you to Vanessa Miller and thank you to NetGalley and thank you to the publisher. Definitely one of my favorites this year.

"The Light on Halsey Street" by Vanessa Miller is a compelling and thought-provoking novel that delves into themes of family, identity, and reconciliation. Set in a Brooklyn neighborhood, the story follows protagonist Amelia as she grapples with the ghosts of her past and the challenges of rebuilding her life. Miller's powerful prose and well-crafted characters make this book a poignant exploration of healing and finding hope amidst the shadows of the past.

This book took me back to the Brooklyn of the 1980s and then followed two friends through their lives. I thought the strongest element of this book was the sense of place, and I was utterly shocked to find out that the author had never lived there! It all felt so real.

The characters of this novel had strong motivations for the things that they did. I truly believed that Dana and Lisa would have been childhood friends who grew apart through Dana's life choices. It happens every day. Lisa's story was so relatable, in that oftentimes brilliant people who show tremendous promise don't accomplish their life goals and have to pivot into something equally as rewarding. This aspect was actually one of my favorite aspects of the novel.

I give it 3 stars out of 5 not because the story it self was bad, it is marketed to be a story of redemption, but I give it 3 stars because I feel that the middle dragged on a little while at the same time rushing through the girls middle life years.

That being said I think if people liked the novels by Karin Yan Glaser, they will love Vanessa Miller and I would recommend this book to my friends.

The Light on Halsey Street was a touching book about two young women leading different lives. While in the same neighborhood as her friend, Dana, Lisa grew up with Christian parents, working in her father's store. Dana struggles with her mother's drug addiction, constant evictions, and no foreseeable job or college in the future. While their stories intertwine, their lives turn quickly in different directions.
I found myself rooting for both young women. It took a little while to get into the book, but their lives showed how God offers His children hope, forgiveness, redemption, and love, no matter where you come from or where you are going. The faith content was ever-present, and the story was unforgettable. While I had trouble connecting to some side characters, I would read Vanessa Miller again. 3/5 stars.