Can I Get An Amen?

Ellen Carlisle, the center of Healy’s debut novel, grew up the daughter of born-again Christian parents who believe everything is a blessing from Jesus or a challenge from Satan. Ellen’s own limited faith is tested when she loses her job and her husband leaves her. With limited options, she moves back home, where church attendance is a requirement. Then she meets Mark, a minister, who seems the ideal guy, but she soon learns that he is more complicated than he appears. Family crises follow, and Ellen learns that faith is important and no one is perfect. Healy’s supporting characters are charming, but the plot is trite and the novel can’t decide if it’s women’s fiction or faith fiction. Agent: Stephanie Kip Rostan, the Levine Greenberg Literary Agency. (June)