Neta Jacksons Who Do I Lean On? continues the saga of Gabby Fairbanks and is centered on Proverbs 3:5, which says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding (NIV). Gabby Fairbanks bites off a little more than she can chew in trying to purchase an apartment building, and her estranged husband Phillip is in over his head with loan sharks. Gabbys friends cant always be there for her, and she begins to wonder on whom she can lean.
Jackson does an excellent job of working a valuable lesson into a believable characters real life. She shows that Gabby has more than just the main struggle to deal with in her life, which is something many authors do. She makes it very clear that Gabby cannot deal with the entire situation without God. However, Gabbys relationships with nearly everyone seem to be superficial. She only talks to them about what is going on in her life and rarely asks what is going on in their lives. Their conversations also rarely go beyond what is happening at the time. Nevertheless, there is an excellent plot climax in a hospital among God, Gabby, and Phillip.
At one point in the story Gabby seems mostly recovered from being kicked out by her husband Phillip. The two have worked out a system for when each will see their children, and Gabby has begun the process of buying the six-apartment building for single mothers who live in a special protective environment known as Manna House. Out of the blue, Phillip comes back to her, asking for a loan to cover his gambling debts. She refuses, and he makes a decision that endangers his life. On top of this, the line between professional and intimate relationship between Gabby and her lawyer, Lee Boyer, starts becoming a little blurry. When things get complicated and Gabbys friends cant always help, she learns that she must lean on God alone.
Gabby is entirely too immature to deal with the situation in which she finds herself. This can be accounted for by the years of soft living in her back story, as well as the authors desire to emphasize that Gabby is not able to deal with life. I would have liked to have seen more of the other characters and discovered who they really were, but there were so many of them that there wasnt time to get a good look at many. Overall, the story has a believable premise and an excellent message. Women (especially new Christians) will definitely enjoy it, and I would recommend it for them. Rebekah R. Blomenberg, www.ChristianBookPreviews.com
