My Hands Came Away Red

by Lisa McKay

Cori signs up to take a mission trip to Indonesia during the summer after her senior year of high school. Inspired by happy visions of building churches and seeing beautiful beaches, she gladly... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802489826
• ISBN13: 9780802489821
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Moody Publishers
• Length: 391 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

No joke I've read this book 18 times

I've read this book 18 times. Sometimes I've finished reading it and immediately start all over again. McKay does a fantastic job of really feeling the same way Cori does has she bonds with her team. By the end the characters are not just Cori's family but yours as well.

Amazing Read!!!

After finishing all of Francine Rivers' novels, I had been searching hard for a good Christian fiction novel. I found many that were moderately entertaining, usually ending with some main character becoming a Christian and then falling in love. Utterly predictable. McKay's novel blew right past any chiches in her treatment of tough issues like God's character and His response to injustice. She paints her characters with nuance and shading so well that I feel like I was part of their little mission team. If you have done any overseas missions, you will especially enjoy this novel. It was so thoroughly enjoyable that I couldn't help but read portions aloud to my poor husband. But more than that, it is a terrific, honest, beautiful story of an incredible journey with a bunch of messy, ordinary but also extraordinary individuals who become a family doing the work God called them to do. I hope you enjoy it as I did!

Fantastic First Book - Can't Wait To Read More

Wow! What a great book. Having lived and worked in Indonesia and dealt with some of the fallout of the many religious and ethnic fightings there, this book does an excellent job of covering the emotions and struggles of the people. While the story is told from the perspective of an American teenager this book is great read for all ages. And what fun to read a bit of Bahasa Indonesian. I can't wait too see what this author comes up with next!

An Intriguing and Intelligent Debut

What a refreshing departure from the norm! I couldn't help but be interested when I saw that this book was listed as "one of Christian fiction's best novels of the year" by Publishers Weekly. It more than lives up to that claim. This is the third of my favorite Christian novels I've read in 2007 - the first being Adelaide Piper by Beth Webb Hart, the second Feeling for Bones by Bethany Pierce. The protagonist of this compelling novel is eighteen-year-old Cori, an Australian native who grew up as an MK in Kenya and is now living in the States. Wanting to escape from a complicated love life, she goes on a missions trip to an Indonesian island the summer after her high school graduation. But when the trip goes horribly wrong as a result of religious tensions in the area, she and her teammates are left to get out alone with only an Indonesian teenager to guide them. What follows is a physical, emotional, and spiritual journey that is nothing less than beautifully conveyed. It is gripping and yet tender, told in unpretentious but intricate language and flawless dramatic timing. It is a story to live in, to experience. There is no way not to become emotionally involved with the characters. Religious battles, spiritual struggles are portrayed with raw honesty and fairness and open-endedness. There is truth in this story. There is orthodoxy. But there is also a willingness to leave questions unanswered, to suggest rather than to explain what cannot be fully understood. When I closed the cover of the book after I was finished, I was regretful to leave the characters I'd grown to love. And I was intimidated to ever try writing again, because I thought, I could never write this skillfully. I can only hope that there will be many follow-ups to this excellent debut.

A Must Read!

"My Hands Came Away Red" is one of the best books I've ever read. I'm an avid reader, especially of Christian Fiction. Many Christian fiction books are on the "fluffy" side and when you're done, you think, "OK, that was pretty good", but I just finished this book this morning and thought, "Wow! Now THAT was a GOOD book!" This is the first review that I've ever written, but I feel the need to recommend this book to everyone. I can't wait to read more from Lisa McKay!

Do not miss this amazing book!

Frustrated by pressure she feels from her former boyfriend and confused about her future direction, Cori jumps at the chance to participate in a missions trip to Indonesia. Boot camp introduces Cori to her team mates, Kyle, Elissa, Mark, Brendan and Drew and leaves her exhausted and blistered and yet unprepared for the horrifying reality the team faces when a conflict between Muslim and Christian villagers destroys the newly constructed church and decimates the village. Led by young villager Mani, grieving the slaughter of his parents, the team escapes into the treacherous Indonesian jungle with fear, anxiety and despair lacerating their faith in each other and God. To say I was blown away by the intensity and power of Lisa' McKay's debut novel is an understatement! Cori's voice is clear and emotive and her internal struggles throughout the entirety of the book bespoke a genuineness of character rarely found. Lisa beautifully described the village and drew me in to the looming tragedy with stunning prose. I experienced the heart pounding fear and desperation of her characters to such an extent that I had to put the book down to give my heart a rest! It was only for a minute however as the fate of the village and the team held me captive. While most of the characters are in their late teens this book's appeal extends far beyond readers of the same age. Lisa has drawn characters with exceptional depth and accuracy and handles issues of God's sovereignty in the midst of human tragedy without trite or pat answers. The authority and realism Lisa's career of providing psychological and spiritual support to aid workers, gives authority and realism to a story that is second to none. Cori's journey, through emotional and physical turmoil is not to be missed. I have no hesitation in stating that my hands came away red is the finest book I have read this year and I hope it is the first of many from this Australian author.