Christian teen readers may enjoy this average effort by one of their own, in spite of its flaws.
Scarlett, 16, will need faith to guide her through a series of tribulations.
Scarlett's 10-year-old brother, ever-so-winsome Cliff, is perhaps afflicted with some type of high-functioning autism. Somewhat implausibly, Scarlett is the only one in her dysfunctional family who understands him at all. Her older sister, Juli, a budding hippie, is too wrapped up in her boyfriend, her parents are too busy fighting over money and politics—a conflict that never emerges as more than background noise—and her live-in grandfather is losing a battle with Alzheimer's. After a promise to outer-space–focused Cliff, Scarlett starts earning money by baking peach pies so that she can build him a replica of a rocket ship. In this effort she is helped out by the son of the owner of the peach orchard, sensitive, smart Frank. Then there's a terrible accident, heavily foreshadowed, with a nearly unbelievable outcome, and Scarlett must either succumb to despair or find a path to peaceful acceptance through God. Coker, a teen herself, too often lets her authorial voice intrude on Scarlett's narrative, creating attractive (and frequently redundant) sentences that ring false—"I enjoyed the warm, breezy air kissing my windblown cheeks"—and weakens the narrative by too-often resorting to telling rather than showing. The 1969 time period is never well-realized.
Christian teen readers may enjoy this average effort by one of their own, in spite of its flaws. (Historical fiction. 11-16)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-310-73293-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Zondervan
Review Posted Online: Nov. 30, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
Evocations of Narnia are not enough to salvage this fantasy, which struggles with thin character development.
A portal fantasy survivor story from an established devotional writer.
Fourteen-year-old Eva’s maternal grandmother lives on a grand estate in England; Eva and her academic parents live in New Haven, Connecticut. When she and Mum finally visit Carrick Hall, Eva is alternately resentful at what she’s missed and overjoyed to connect with sometimes aloof Grandmother. Alongside questions of Eva’s family history, the summer is permeated by a greater mystery surrounding the work of fictional children’s fantasy writer A.H.W. Clifton, who wrote a Narnialike series that Eva adores. As it happens, Grandmother was one of several children who entered and ruled Ternival, the world of Clifton’s books; the others perished in 1952, and Grandmother hasn’t recovered. The Narnia influences are strong—Eva’s grandmother is the Susan figure who’s repudiated both magic and God—and the ensuing trauma has created rifts that echo through her relationships with her daughter and granddaughter. An early narrative implication that Eva will visit Ternival to set things right barely materializes in this series opener; meanwhile, the religious parable overwhelms the magic elements as the story winds on. The serviceable plot is weakened by shallow characterization. Little backstory appears other than that which immediately concerns the plot, and Eva tends to respond emotionally as the story requires—resentful when her seething silence is required, immediately trusting toward characters readers need to trust. Major characters are cued white.
Evocations of Narnia are not enough to salvage this fantasy, which struggles with thin character development. (author’s note, map, author Q&A) (Religious fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Jan. 30, 2024
ISBN: 9780593194454
Page Count: 384
Publisher: WaterBrook
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
Although reality shows and religion don’t usually mix, this text blends both well and serves up Addy as a believable and...
This light teenage romance with a reality-show twist is entertaining and forgivably predictable.
Getting good grades and into an Ivy League college are 17-year-old Addy’s two goals in life. So when her principal taps her to represent her school on the new reality TV show The Book of Love, Addy isn’t thrilled, despite the show’s prize of a date to the prom with Jonathon Jackson, the son of the president of the United States. Looking to be sent home quickly, unlike the other 99 girls, Addy doesn’t fawn over the First Son and instead chooses to just be herself, which, to her dismay, endears her to viewers and prolongs her stay. Addy’s positive attention attracts some serious nastiness from her competitors and the show’s director, Hank, which convinces Addy that her purpose on the show is to really share her faith. Relying on Christianity, Addy musters the courage to persevere, just like her deceased missionary parents, who are referenced throughout. Short transcripts of interviews with the show's participants are sprinkled between chapters, underscoring the vapid nature of the other girls.
Although reality shows and religion don’t usually mix, this text blends both well and serves up Addy as a believable and endearing heroine. (Fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4016-8488-4
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011
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