The Last Sin Eater: A Novel

This has been my favorite novel of all time since I read it in high school. I also hadn't read it since high school, so I thought it was past due for a reread.

Set in 1850s Appalachia, this book is about an isolated community of Scottish immigrants who share land, traditions, and a terrible secret from the past. It's about an actual historical tradition of a “sin eater,” a man who was chosen to be cast out from the community and perform a ceremony to take on himself the sins of those that have died, “saving” them and condemning himself to hell in their place. It's specifically about a 10-year-old girl named Cadi Forbes, who is tired of the secrets and lies and the guilt of her own sins and sets out to find the truth about the sin eater. And, most importantly, it's about the power and beauty of the gospel and the God who provided us with the only way back to Him. A holy God, but also a gracious and merciful God. A God who seeks and saves the lost.

This is not necessarily a “feel-good” book, with everything ending happily ever after. There are some scary fictional things that happen, some awful fictional secrets that come to the surface, and a heavy fictional darkness that holds these people captive. But that's the real world we live in too.

And it's against this backdrop that the glory of the gospel shines brightest.

After reading it a second time, I still claim this as my favorite novel. It's also one of the most powerful I've ever read. I highly recommend.