Synopsis: Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgement he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever. In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant THE SHACK wrestles with the timeless question, 'Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?'

About the author: William P. Young was born a Canadian and raised among a stone-age tribe by his missionary parents in the highlands of what was New Guinea. He suffered great loss as a child and young adult, and now enjoys the 'wastefulness of grace' with his family in the Pacific Northwest.

I finished the book yesterday and immediately ordered a copy as a Christmas gift to my father-in-law who is not well and will probably be spending the holidays at a clinic receiving treatment. One day I was changing channels on the TV and came across an interview Young was giving to a christian network. I didn't know who he was or that he had written a book because I caught it half-way through, but I was moved by his personal story and could relate to his struggles. He then explained how he came to write this book in an attempt to answer his own questions about God - at least that's how I understood it. The main question the book attempts to answer is 'why does God allow suffering, if he loves us why doesn't he intervene?' and I think it manages to make a convincing argument. Faith and religion are very sensitive subjects, I'm sure some will find this book too Christian and others not Christian enough. I believe that although this is Mack's experience, the answers he finds are universal and can be incorporated into different belief systems. I must admit, I didn't feel that the writing was that good, the prose doesn't flow very well for a novel and I don't think the character's psychologies were developed as well at they could have been. I asked myself if it would have been better had it been written as a book of religious non-fiction, but then it might not have attracted as many readers which would have been a shame as the message of the book has the potential to resonate with, and help many people. It's unlike anything I've read before, I'm not going to say anymore because I don't want to spoil it for you. Visit www.theshackbook.com for more info and resources.

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Ready to travel, with a jacket for the journey J

Safe and sound with me as of today. Will read ASAP!

What can I say? I really, really, really HATED this book. I struggled through it, thinking maybe it would get better, but it didn't. I want to find something I liked about it, but I can't. The writing style was hideous (in my opinion, obviously) and I don't think there was any point to the story except to raise the usual theological/philosophical questions that anyone with half a brain has already thought about, try to answer them with the usual "it's okay that people suffer because God has a plan" excuse. I won't say any more as I don't want to spoil the "story", but I personally think a year 9 Religious Studies class could have presented the questions better and given the readers a wider range of answers to consider...

Anyway, that's just me. I have the address and will send on ASAP, hope the next reader enjoys it more.

Got this book in the mail a few days ago. I have a couple of ring books ahead of this one but I'll read it as soon as possible and pass it on.

Thanks Rossella05 for organising the ring and Mazzlestar for sending it to France.

First, I'd like to apologise for keeping the book so long. It didn't take me that much time to read it but I had a few ring books to read beforehand.

Anyway, I deeply and strongly disliked the book from the first to the last page. It's not my custom to leave a book unfinished but I really must say I struggled to find the motivation to read it until the end.

The book is not quite a bore but it is an absolute nonsense. I can't believe a grown author can write so simply about religion. The vision of the Holy Trinity is so silly I almost cried with shame. This story is not interesting at all as the writer turns what could have been an interesting detective story into a new chapter of the Bible.

What a disappointment. Really.

PMing Lauraloo29 for her address.

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Oops, forgot to journal the book's been sent to Lauraloo29.

Arrived today. I have a few rings here at the moment, but I am keeping them moving. Thank you!

Funny, I received a copy of my own of this book yesterday. I have a few bookrings here at the moment, so it is a good thing.

Mrbaggins1, asked to be skipped. Also has their own copy.

This will be in the mail to Singapore this week. Thank you for sharing!

Got it, thanks.

Well, after reading all the previous dislikes I'm at a loss how to write my own. Though have skipped some centre parts on the conversations, I've concluded that it's not possible for us to provide a great answer to what happened whether it's true or just a work of fiction. Miracles are possible. And there're things happening which science cannot explain, so the experience that Mack encountered is also not impossible though the characters were a bit weird. Thanks Ross for sharing. I can relate to how the father felt panic-stricken when he couldn't find his Missy, and how when they found the crayons and her little red dress in the shack makes me cry, and also at the end when the body was found - after 3 and half years and other little girls bodies. Sending off to Australia.

Arrived today safe and sound. It is on top of my TBR stack. Thanks for including me.

First of all I must admit that I never heard of "The Shack" before and thought it was a thriller. ;-)
Soon after opening this book I found out that I was pretty wrong. What can I say - it is a story written for the author's children to answer some questions about god. I must say I prefer "Mister God, this is Anna" by Fynn or "Oh, God!" by Avery Corman or "Gospel" by Wilton Barnhardt, but "the Shack" is not that horrible. (I read worse books.)

It is on its way!

Received yesterday in the mail. Looking forward to reading this.
Thanks for including me in the ring.

Pg. 15 great thought about weather that keeps us home from work!
Pg. 80 is where it starts getting a bit unbelievable...but oh I so want to believe it!


I think this book is one of those you either love or hate. Although, I think there is more dislike for this book than the former after reading all the journal entries. You have to have an open mind when you read this and remember that it is fiction. And be prepared to have a different opinion of it than your neighbor, friend or family member.

Before I started this, I asked a few people if they have read it and if they did, what did they think? The reaction I'd get was very interesting. Always, a hesitation and then sometimes a slow but affirmative yes. I don't think I've met anyone who has said they didn't like it.

There are some very interesting takes on certain philosophies that I felt answered some of the questions I have always had about religion. And I felt like this book actually made things a lot more clear, like the trilogy, the tree of knowledge, religion and man's desire to control his life and how that has impacted the human race. I may not agree with all that was mentioned in this book, however, I thoroughly appreciate the way these things were explained. I have always had some thoughts in the back of my mind about religion and the human race and this book seemed to help me understand these thoughts a little better.

I also think this book can sooth a bit of the pain one feels when they lose someone close. Another book that made me cry as I read it in the YMCA.

I really want to share this with some family members and so I've just purchased 3 copies (one for me). I would like to read this once a year to remember how I felt reading it. It's pretty uplifting.

PMng the next person in line.
I'll mail this out as soon as I get the address.
Thank you so much for including me in this ring!

Book has arrived.

I thought this was going to be a mystery. By the time the book had been mailed to me I knew what the story line was. I skimmed through it instead of reading it word for word because I have a hard time with true crime books. Anyway, I'm glad the author was able to work through this awful happening and move forward.
Thanks, Rossella, for putting this bookring together.

Mailed to bibliocrates today.

I'm not sure when this book arrived, but it's been here in Trinity, Alabama for a while, been very busy working and just opened a bunch of mail today. Anyway, thanks for passing it along faramir10, will add it to my TBR pile.