Rating: 
Summary: A continuation of an endearing group of characters!
Review: After reading the 1st of the series, I was totally hooked! Each book brought me closer to the characters & made me care how they all faired. It was so cool that they all moved right in to the island & were continuing their episodes as interestingly as if they were still in Mitford! Loved the island people too, & were grateful of all the connections to Mitford from calls & letters. The series is great for a total escape from our hi-tech busy world!!! I felt that the series could go on forever & was very confused as to why #5-"A New Song" ended the way it did & why #6 goes back to a time between # 2 & 3 in the series--I AM SOOO CONFUSED!!!! Why did #5 end the way it did, not answering so many questions, like about Dooley's other 2 brothers etc. & others & #6 go back to an earlier scenario??? Someone, please explain!!! However, the series has been so delightful & I'm looking forward to many more books continuing this wonderful group of people & all others Jan Karon choses to add to her stories!!!! I so can relate to Timothy & Cynthia & how they connect & see the world!! Thank you Jan!!!
Rating: 
Summary: A New Song is a breath of fresh air
Review: Good for Father Tim and Cynthia. Cynthia finally got Father Tim to venture out beyond the great town of Mitford! They didn't get off to the best start with the massive storm on the way to their new home, but all turned out good. Poor Johnathan gets a wonderful loving home while the town takes care of his mommy and I think that was probably my favorite part. I loved how Cynthia, not being a mom herself did such a wonderful job with a sad little boy who wants nothing but his mommy back. This book had such heart to it. A very good read.
Rating:
Summary: Gentle soap opera
Review: The series are all gentle soap operas which are non-offensive to all readers. Nothing to be embarrassed about sharing with your mother. I liked this one the best because the main character and his wife get to go somewhere new. Whitecap sounded like a great place to spend some time and the townfolk were funny and likeable. Too bad the Pastor moves back to Mitford in the next book(s).
Rating: 
Summary: A New Song
Review: Father Tim Kavanaugh, the longtime rector of Lord's Chapel in Mitford, has at last retired. After a few months of relaxing with his lovely wife, his bishop asks him to serve as an interim pastor of a small chapel on Whitehead Island. Knowing that this isn't the bishop's bright idea, but God's, Tim eagerly takes on the challenge. After drawn-out goodbyes in Mitford - and many parishoners trying to convince him to stay - Tim and Cynthia head to Whitecap. Of course, even the way there isn't easy, as the couple hits a downpour in their convertible, and faces a washed-out bridge. Once they arrive, they begin to enter into island life, which is both a new and different kind of life, and yet similar, than that they were accustomed to in Mitford. Tim faces similar challenges from those he knew as a Mitford pastor - a single mother's bout with depression, petty fighting amongst his parish, and a recluse neighbor's need for prayer. Yet, there are new challenges on Whitecap too, particularly when a hurricane strikes the people in a profound way. A New Song is an interesting installment to Jan Karon's series chroniciling the life of Tim and Cynthia, and yet was not as satisfying as some of her other books. I missed the cast of characters from Mitford, but did not grow very attached to any of the new townspeople from Whitecap. What was more present than in many of the other books was Father Tim's personal relationship with God, and how much he craved that relationship for his parishoners. While religion has, of course, come into the other books; in this book it seemed far more personal. Father Tim considered himself tethered far more closely to God on his island home, rather than tethered to the earth, as he was in the mountains. He seems to listen more closely to God, praying in ways that would surely seem foolish to others, particularly for his next-door neighbor. His celebrations of the liturgy are also more moving, whether they are done at the home of a shut-in, or at a homecoming for his new chapel. All in all, this book is sure to be required reading for all followers of the Mitford books.
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