I should have a rating system based on how long it takes to read a book because the faster I read it, the better it is. If I hadn’t had to get up for work at 5:30 in the morning, I would’ve read Susie Finkbeiner’s Paint Chips in one evening. Instead, to my dismay, I had to be a responsible adult and read it in two evenings.

Paint Chips is one of the best books I’ve read this year.

Two narrators, a mother and daughter, tell this compelling story. After enduring multiple tragedies, the mother Cora resides in a mental hospital, and the daughter Dorothea, lives in a home for women rescued from prostitution. Layer by layer, we learn each woman’s story, and Finkbeiner reveals one detail at a time through the use of flashbacks, which creates tension and raises questions that drive the story forward.

This novel spotlights the reality of human trafficking and its effects on victims. Though this is a dark subject matter, the story is injected with hope. Christian characters point victims to forgiveness through Jesus Christ and help them in the healing and restoration process.

I highly recommend Paint Chips.