Pride & A Prayer

Posted by Heather Manning On February - 22 - 2010

Pride & A Prayer by Charles Soto

Remember back when I reviewed Heartache & Sin I said that I couldn’t wait to read Charles Soto’s next book, Pride & A Prayer. It hasn’t been released yet, but Charles sent me a copy to read. You know I loved Heartache & Sin, and I didn’t think it would possible that he could top that. I knew it would be just as good, but to top it? That would be amazing. He topped it for me.

From his website:

Pride and a Prayer delivers every endearing and touching emotion that even the most hardened of hearts can feel. A story filled with characters so close to your own heart they compel you to turn each page, with a read that takes you all the way to the end of the prolog to find out its ending, an ending that you won’t soon forget or have seen coming.
Pride and a Prayer is an idea that I got one morning when I was watching the Today show, on NBC. It featured an interracial couple’s fraternal twins, the boy was born with a white complexion and the girl was born with a black complexion. I remembered the same thing on the hit TV show, The Jefferson’s. Their neighbors were an interracial couple who had fraternal twins under the same conditions. I thought, what a great idea for a book. Being a Mexican American, I’ve unfortunately experienced prejudice on a personal level for myself. I wanted to touch on a story that dealt with such issues and at the same time found peace and resolve. A story that, not only touched on interracial relationships, but also held a trust and faith in God, when the worst and unthinkable seems apparent. I wanted to add such controversial topics as, abortion and Plan B contraceptive, with religion and abortion laws to reflect in the readers thoughts, yet write it in a theme of a love story, with characters I developed that we all can relate too, making you, the reader, wonder what you would do and how you would react under the same conditions. Pride and a Prayer is a story that touches each of us, man or woman, with an ending that no reader will soon forget.

I cried. Actual tears streaming down my cheeks. Sarah’s story broke my heart, then lifted my spirits, hit close to home, took my emotions through the gauntlet. At first I wanted to read the book because I thought I was in a situation similar to Sarah’s. When Pato and I first got together, a lot of people on both sides of the families weren’t thrilled with us dating. I think everyone has calmed down and is ok with our spouse now, but in the beginning it was hard. I felt for Sarah.

Then I got more into the story. Without telling my mom’s whole story and without giving away everything in the book, how I came to be is very very similar to what happens to Sarah. Reading this book, I sat here wondering if those thoughts were what was going through my mom’s mind when she was pregnant with me? You would have to have a heart of ice not to feel for Sarah, not to hurt for her.

I don’t know how Charles Soto does it. He is one of the most talented authors I have ever read. He brings all the controversial issues to the table, but he does it in a manner that doesn’t make you feel anger towards the character experiencing it, no matter what your stance. You feel empathy towards them. You care for them, for what happens to them, for how their story will end.

My heart went out to Mal because in the story, you know why Sarah is doing what she is doing when she shuts down their relationship, but you also know that this isn’t his fault. You want her to open up that door for him. Let him back in. Let him help her through this time because she needs that love.

Sarah also has to deal with her family who is racist beyond anything I have ever had an experience with. Thank God. Her father lets some words fly at a football game where her boyfriend, Gil, is the star quarterback (be ready for a heart wrenching moment right there in the first chapter regarding Gil). Gil is Mexican. Sarah’s father has a problem with Mexicans. And African Americans. And well, everyone who isn’t white as Wonder Bread. Her mother seems to follow her father’s lead. I couldn’t imagine growing up like that.

In the end, everything is……. do you actually think I’d tell you that? I’ll just say that the ending was just as wonderful as the rest of the book. It flowed, it moved, the ending didn’t come out of nowhere. (Don’t you hate it when books do that? When you’re reading this beautiful long novel and then the ending is rushed? Charles Soto does not do that. He puts just as much care and thought and love into his endings as he does the whole book.) I think when you get to read this book and you get to the end that you will be suprised. I was. I wasn’t expecting what happened, but it was really good.

When Charles Soto releases this book, grab it! Go with Sarah through her heartbreaking relationship with Gil, through her wanting to see Mal, but not knowing how to go about it, through Mal trying to see Sarah again, through one of the most horrendous things that could ever happen to a woman, through her having to consider options that would break anyone’s heart.

Please read the excerp of Pride & A Prayer that he has on his site here.

Charles Soto, thank you so much for sharing this with me. I love to read. I read everything I can get my hands on. I enjoy almost every book that I read. I can say with all honestly, not many books have touched my heart like yours do. Your a tremendously talented man with a skill not many people posses. Your books should be on top of the best seller’s lists.

Follow Charles Soto on Twitter.

Charles Soto’s website

Thank you so much to Charles Soto for providing me with an e-book copy of Pride & A Prayer. My heart was touched by another one of your beautiful characters. Please continue writing your fabulous stories!