Sing a Song Again

by Katja H. Labonté

How can her heart ever sing again?

Ashley lives in the shadows. She sits on the outskirts, watching everyone else standing in the sunshine. Her heart hurts, and she wants no one to touch it—because no one can fix it.

But when a new girl at school decides to befriend her, Ashley finds her past surfacing. No amount of fleeing can save her from Susanna’s tenacious kindness. Why is Susanna so persistent? How can she possibly understand Ashley’s pain? Is there any chance that Ashley can find healing, and will a song ever come to her anew?

Previously published in the “Hope” anthology by the King’s Daughters’ Writing Camp.

Genres: Contemporary, Short Stories, Christian Fiction

28 pages, ebook

Published September 1, 2021

About the author

Katja H. Labonté is a Christian, an extreme bibliophile who devours over 365 books in a year, and an exuberant writer with a talent for starting short stories that explode into book series. She is a bilingual French-Canadian and has about a dozen topics she’s excessively passionate about (hint: that’s why she writes). Katja writes both contemporary and historical fiction, as well as non-magical historical and contemporary kingdom fiction, and covers themes of worth, love, peace, and Christian growth. She spends her days enjoying little things, growing in faith, learning life, and loving people. You can follow her life journey, find free books, browse her services, and more on her website and blog.

Reviews

[Katja Labonté]

*Now available on Amazon for 99¢ or on my blog as a free download: https://littleblossomsforjesus.wordpr.... Published in the Hope collection.*

This story is a very personal one with a good deal of my own experiences and feelings in it. I still cry reading it, and I hope it can be a blessing and an encouragement to someone!

[Kristina Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Characters: Ashley was such a well-developed character. Her struggles with depression after her friends' betrayal were portrayed really realistically. I felt bad for her :(

Language: Clean.

Moral: For a story so short, Sing a Song Again had some really impactful morals: the importance of keeping your eyes on Jesus, the importance of reading the Bible and praying to grow closer to Jesus, and God's faithfulness. I really enjoyed how these themes were presented, and I love that this short story included a hymn!

Plot: You all know I don't go into plots when I'm reviewing a short story :) Too much risk of giving info away...

Romance: Clean. This short story wasn't a romance.

Writing: Katja has a great writing style. She gave Ashley a unique voice that I enjoyed.

Overall: Sing a Song Again was an entertaining and thought-provoking read, and I'd recommend it to those who enjoy Christian fiction, short stories, and contemporary fiction.

If you'd like to read this short story, Katja is offering free e-copies (mobi, epub, or PDF): https://www.dropbox.com/sh/a9xbo1g5jd...

[Vanessa Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my, what an authentic, truth-filled story! I really enjoyed reading this - Ashley felt very human with realistic emotions and desires and struggles. And Susanna! What a sweetheart. She was such a good friend. I loved it when the girls bonded over their love of books - even Sherlock Holmes! Yes! The way Susanna was such a faithful friend to Ashley in spite of initial repulsion was so powerful. And Ashley worked through real-life problems. A lot of books have characters that have suffered extremely dramatic pasts, and while that's true for some people and works great for some characters, this book felt even more realistic because Ashley struggled with betrayal from a friend. Many people can empathize with that in one form or another. And the ending ... wow! It was just beautiful. Indeed, Jesus is the only One Who can comfort us and soothe us and be our very best Friend. I really enjoyed reading this - Katja's writing was very well done and so nice to read. I'm looking forward to reading more of her work in the future. (And by the way, after I finished this story, I started singing "Great is Thy Faithfulness." You'll just have to read it to find out why.)

[Rebekah Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this story, but couldn’t connect with the main character. I was so glad someone came into her life and spoke truth to her instead of the lies she had been believing for so long.

[Andrea Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming little tale about friendship and a person’s worth. I enjoyed this short story that featured broken hopes and a determined friend. There was such sweet encouragement through each page.

The cover of this shorty is beautiful and sweetly expresses the grief and hope found within the tale, and I adore that raindrops can be seen. That type of weather was important to the story, and I love it when cover art reflects that sort of thing.

Content: suicide mentioned

[Lydia Willcock · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first read this three years ago, I liked it and thought it was a sweet story. But I didn't really relate to it much until the 2024 reread. Now I can say it's easily one of my favourite short stories. Sing a Song Again is beautiful, poignant, and so, so full of depth and hope. I cried reading it, and it felt so very real.
I also loved the books and the fangirling... so relatable! Ashlyn was an extremely relatable character in more ways than one. Beautiful writing, beautiful message, and just... a beautiful story.

[Faith Gilliosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet, uplifting read.

[Hannah Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a super sweet and tender short story from a lovely and talented young author.

[A.M. Revere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my gosh, this was such a beautiful story.
It really took me back to my longtime-cherished friendship that began in Kindergarten and ended sadly in middle school. I really felt the heart of Ashley and her pain of losing Livie and being afraid to open up and put her heart out again. But I also really understood the compassion and grace of Susanna. She was also relatable and promised to be there for Ashley, even in her imperfection and capability of failing her. But what mattered is that Susie promised to try with everything within her to be that best and loyal friend for Ashley.
Gosh, this story gave me ALL the feels! And I loved that it ended by pointing to the unconditional love and friendship of Jesus and how He'll NEVER, EVER fail us.
I recommend this wonderful story to anyone! Hands down!