Category Archives: Hinton, Lynne

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Lynne Hinton. Wedding Cake. New York: Avon, 2010.

Beatrice, Charlotte, Jessie, and Louise have had an eventful year. Margaret’s death was hard on the “Forever Friends,” and they continue to grieve for her. The women often discuss what Margaret would think of their lives and what advice she would offer. Beatrice is struggling with her daughter Robin’s engagement to a man who Robin has never mentioned or introduced to her. Charlotte is unsure of her new boyfriend’s close relationship with his ex-wife, who happens to be a resident at her shelter for battered women (he is not the perpetrator). In the midst of celebrating her husband’s return home after a long and painful absence, Jessie discovers an affair he had years ago while living in Baltimore. Jessie is hurt, and she is unsure if she wants to renew her vows with James after this revelation. Louise is shocked when the husband of recently deceased friend, a man she never had a strong relationship with, proposes to her. In all of these situations, the four realize that Margaret would encourage them to keep their hearts and minds open and to love and be loved.

Wedding Cake is Lynn Hinton’s fifth book in her Hope Springs series.

Check this title’s availability and the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

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Filed under 2010, 2010-2019, Hinton, Lynne, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Religious/Inspirational

Lynne Hinton. Forever Friends. San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 2003.

The women of Hope Springs Community Church enjoy a strong bond. In the first two novels in Hinton’s Hope Springs series, the women compiled a church cookbook to energize their Women’s Guild and discovered how much they cherished the relationships formed in that experience.

In Forever Friends, the women are once again present for each others’ hardships as well as their joys. Margaret has just discovered that she is cancer-free, and the women are delighted with the news. Jessie finally fulfills a lifelong dream to travel to Africa, and she returns with a renewed spirit. After Beatrice’s husband shares a family secret with her, she feels the satisfaction as well as responsibility of being “in” on information at last. Louise offers her friends sincere advice. And Charlotte, upon helping a parishioner’s jailed grandson, realizes that the ministry is not for her and decides to move West. The theme throughout this novel is friendship, which Hinton shows in the devotion, support, honesty, and humor that characterize their relationships. The nickname that the dedicated women given themselves, “Forever Friends”, is appropriate.

Hope Springs is Lynn Hinton’s third book in her Hope Springs series.

Check this title’s availability and the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

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Filed under 2000-2009, 2003, Hinton, Lynne, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Religious/Inspirational

Lynne Hinton. Christmas Cake. New York: Avon, 2009.

Beatrice, Jessie, Louise, and Margaret are fixtures in the Hope Springs Community Church.  They are also best friends – the type, for example, who accompany each other to doctor’s appointments.  When Margaret’s cancer resurfaces, the heartbroken women react to it in different ways.  Beatrice thinks that a Christmas cake cookbook contest would be a good way for the women to deal with the news; after all, the Women’s Guild Cookbook is what brought them together years ago.  As the women busily construct this collection, Margaret decides that she needs to go to Texas to visit her mother’s grave.  Jessie wants the friends to take the journey together, and they set off on the cross-country expedition just before Christmas – in a “borrowed” (later reported stolen) funeral home van.  Once in Texas, they meet up with Charlotte, their former pastor who moved out west to run a battered women’s shelter and who is part of their “Forever Friends” group. Margaret is able to make peace before dying, and the women’s friendship grows stronger through the experience.

Christmas Cake is Lynn Hinton’s fourth book in her Hope Springs series.

Check this title’s availability and the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

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Filed under 2000-2009, 2009, Hinton, Lynne, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Piedmont, Religious/Inspirational

Lynne Hinton. Hope Springs. San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 2002.

The sequel to Friendship Cake finds the women of the Hope Springs Community Church Women’s Guild at it again. Although their cookbook has been published, the group has become accustomed to getting together on a regular basis to talk about their lives – the joys as well as the concerns. The core group – Beatrice, Charlotte, Jessie, Louise, and Margaret – decide to continue meeting. As each woman faces new trials, including breast cancer, depression, and the possibility of moving across the country, they provide care and encouragement to each other. For example, upon hearing that one member may have to have chemotherapy, the other four shave their heads in solidarity. Through being there for each other during every crisis, the women of Hope Springs offer a true picture of friendship.

Hope Springs is Lynn Hinton’s second book in her Hope Springs series.

Check this title’s availability and the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

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Filed under 2000-2009, 2002, Hinton, Lynne, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Religious/Inspirational

Lynne Hinton. Friendship Cake. San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 2000.

Membership in the Hope Springs Community Church Women’s Guild is waning, and the few remaining devoted members would like to find a way to revitalize the group. Beatrice Newgarden suggests that the women compile a cookbook in an effort to raise money and to become more connected with each other. As the women get together to share recipes and discuss the trials of such a large task, they discover how much they depend on each other and how unique their community is. Together, they experience the pain of losing dear friends as well as the joys of rekindled love and new life.

Friendship Cake is Lynn Hinton’s first book in her Hope Springs series.

Check this title’s availability and the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

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Filed under 2000, 2000-2009, Hinton, Lynne, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Religious/Inspirational

Lynne Hinton. The Hope Springs Series.

The hope of becoming part of a “church family” has lured many people to fish fries, church yard sales, Bible study groups, and every manner of church-sponsored fundraisers and events.  Beatrice, Charlotte, Jessie, Louise, and Margaret were members of Hope Springs Community Church, but it was creating a church cookbook that brought them together. While sharing their recipes, they shared the story of their lives and they pooled their strenghts.  As the series has gone on, they have faced illness, separation, and death, all the while supporting each other and valuing the friendship they share.  The author, Lynne Hinton, is a minister; her knowledge of, and affection for, women like Beatrice, Charlotte, Jessie, Louise, and Margaret is evident in all the novels.

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Filed under Hinton, Lynne, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Religious/Inspirational, Series

Lynne Hinton. The Arms of God. New York: St. Martin’s, 2005.

Alice Jacobs’s life takes a dramatic turn when her mother, who had abandoned her as a toddler decades before, shows up at her front door. There isn’t much time for catching up, as her mother dies only a few weeks later. The sudden reunion rekindles Alice’s interest in her past and, using a scrapbook full of clues, she pieces together her mother’s story–starting with her Greensboro childhood–and begins to understand the woman who left her behind.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC Library Catalog.

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Filed under 2000-2009, 2005, Guilford, Hinton, Lynne, Piedmont

Lynne Hinton. The Last Odd Day. New York: Harper, 2004.

In the opening section of The Last Odd Day, Jean Witherspoon is struggling to cope with the death of her husband. The novel alternates between Jean’s past and present. When she learns a surprising secret about her husband, Jean delves into her own history, recalling her stillborn daughter, the deaths of her siblings when she was young, and her traumatic upbringing in a poor Appalachian family.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC Library Catalog.

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Filed under 2000-2009, 2004, Hinton, Lynne, Mountains