Category Archives: Christian World-View

Review: Summer by Summer by Heather Burch

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Clean Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Summer by Summer by Heather BurchSummer by Summer by Heather Burch
Blink YA/Zondervan

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

After tragedy turns Summer’s life upside down, a summer in Belize caring for a charming young boy seems like the perfect escape. Then she meets her charge’s older brother, Bray. His smooth talk and good looks only remind her of everything she wanted to leave behind.

Bray doesn’t get Summer. He doesn’t understand why she hides herself beneath miles of ugly flower print dresses and avoids fun like it will bite. He resents her assumptions about him, even if some of them may be true.

When a boat tour and a terrible storm leave the two stranded on an uninhabited island, they have only each other to lean on for survival. Summer must learn to trust Bray and depend on his strength. As they grow closer, Bray must decide the kind of man he wants to be. When hope for rescue fades, the island give up a dangerous secret. Summer and Bray risk their lives to find a way home.

This book is every bit a romantic fantasy. A handsome guy and a heart-wounded girl trapped alone on an island. Let the romantic tension begin! While Summer and Bray keep boundaries on the physical part of their relationship, the struggle is pretty plain, especially for Bray. Despite the romance being decidedly in the forefront, some unexpected twists in the plot keep the pages turning.

The emotional journeys of the characters are a bit juvenile, which is probably okay since it’s YA… still, I wanted more depth from the characters. Sometimes it seemed as if I was getting the prettied up version of things rather than a deeper, realistic expression. I tend to enjoy grittier stories, so it could just be that personal preference rather than any flaw in the story. Either way it’s a great, light, summer read. Perfect for the beach, reading poolside or curled up next to a sunny window.

Language Content
No profanity.

Sexual Content
Bray has a history of hooking up with girls at parties, but he doesn’t mention details other than not being a virgin. Things between him and Summer get pretty steamy. There’s a lot of tension between them, but they commit to waiting until they are married to have sex.

Spiritual Content
Summer wrestles with some major doubts about her faith since the death of her best friend. Bray doesn’t seem to have a spiritual background but they do discuss what she believes and how important it is to her.

Violence
A man is shot, and it appears a woman may be held against her will.

Drug Content
Bray and his friends drink alcohol at a party. The legal drinking age in Belize is 18. Summer reflects on how drinking alcohol destroyed the life of someone she loved.

Why We Need Christian YA

Blogger's Favorites, Christian World-View, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, ,

Why is Christian YA Important?

Some of the answers to this question seem obvious. Evangelism (introducing Christian beliefs to those unfamiliar or searching.) Reinforced values. “Safe” stories without graphic sex, profanity or violence. Those are all important reasons.

I spent a considerable portion of my early teen years figuring out what I believed, why I believed it and what I wanted to do about it. I think this is the case for a lot of people. As a public school kid, I wasn’t surrounded by Christian faculty and curriculum. (For me, I think this was ultimately a good thing, though that’s another story.) I found friends who shared the same moral ideas that I did, though not always the same faith base. (I think this was also ultimately good, but also another story.)

When I read Christian YA featuring characters facing that struggle – the wrestling with faith to craft our own beliefs, or perhaps more accurately, make our beliefs our own – it reminds me of my own battles. Reminds me that I’m not the only person to ask those questions.

Because I’m involved (or at least a fly on the wall near) some pretty mainstream YA discussions, I hear a lot about how teens need freedom to experiment, need access to stories in which characters have the same kinds of experiences that their readers have. Sometimes this is an argument in favor of including explicit language or sex. I have lots of thoughts about why I think this very often is a flawed argument, but one of the bloggers I love says it really well on her blog Reading Teen.

Perhaps ironically, I think that same argument can be made about more books including authentic spiritual experiences in faith shared by readers. For me, those are experiences in Christian faith. We need those stories. We all need to be reminded that life throws us curve balls we didn’t expect, and sometimes it’s easy to fall back on faith, but sometimes it’s hard. Stories that explore those trials can be very validating.

Why Aren’t There More Christian YA Novels On Bookstore Shelves?

The single reason I hear most is that it’s difficult to get Christian YA books actually onto those shelves. Think about your local bookstore. Is there a section for Christian YA? (At my local Barnes & Noble, there’s possibly one half of a shelf, I mean maybe 6 books or so last I looked.) If there is a section, is it with the other YA books? (Not at my B&N.) Is it easily accessible? (Or is it buried back near bathrooms or kids’ Bibles or something like that?)

If you have a great Christian YA section in your bookstore, that’s super awesome, and I might move to your town. For most people, I’m betting that’s simply not the case.

I find it fascinating that we segregate books and separate out the Christian fiction. Wouldn’t it be easier to shelve them all together? If you want to buy Christian fiction, learn the publishers or authors you love and shop by them. (Isn’t that pretty much how everyone else buys books?)

Some Christian publishers have seemed to give up on YA altogether. Others seem to have focused on stories with milder Christian content. Sometimes there’s talk about God but maybe not Jesus. Maybe prayer, but not really any specifics. In some stories, that’s really where the protagonist’s journey takes him. I’m glad to read those stories, but it’s also important to hear the bold ones, ones in which characters share deeper parts of a Christian life.

The Good News: There Are Some GREAT Authors Out There

Through my own journey as a writer and blogger, I’ve had the privilege of working with some incredible Christian authors. I’m humbled by their excellent stories and challenged by the messages within them. If you’ve been a long-time follower at The Story Sanctuary, you’ve heard their names.

Here are some of the great books by Christian authors that I’ve reviewed:

By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson

Glass Girl by Laura Anderson Kurk

It’s Complicated by Laura L. Smith

 

Upcoming Summer Reviews

Blogger's Favorites, Christian World-View, Fantasy, Lists, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Seems like this time of year more than any other, my To Be Read list just explodes. It’s summer time! The perfect time to kick back and read a book or two. Or seven. Maybe thirteen…

Here are just a few of the books I’m most looking forward to this summer:

Storm Siren and Siren’s Fury by Mary Weber

Originally I’d requested to review Siren’s Fury via NetGalley, but as I started reading, I realized book two wasn’t going to be enough. While I could follow the story, I was too interested in the things that happened in book one: in Nym’s dark past, in her romance with Eogan, and in her part in a terrible war. I ordered the first book with a gift card and caught up. Totally worth it. I’m excited about reviewing these.

Feuds and Torn by Avery Hastings

I read Torn without knowing it was a sequel (though I probably wouldn’t have minded if I had known.) I had no problems following the story, but some parts, while not confusing, clearly referenced events that had happened in book one. I liked the story world and characters well enough to immediately order the first book.

Turning Point by Various Inspirational Authors

I’ve read and really enjoyed several of the ebooks included in this set. I’m excited to explore the other stories. It’s an incredible deal – seven books for $0.99. (Sadly it seems to be no longer available.)

Draven’s Light by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

If you’ve followed The Story Sanctuary long, you’ll know I’m totally in love with Stengl’s Goldstone Wood series. I love that the stories all take place in the same story world, but often at drastically different times or in very different places. Good stuff.

More to Come

I’ll also be reviewing Those Girls by Laura Saft and Every Last Word by Tamera Ireland Stone this month. Look for Tattooed by Jesus, a memoir review coming later this week.

What tops your summer reading list?

Review: Season of Fire by Lisa T. Bergren

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , ,

Season of Fire
Lisa T. Bergren
Zondervan

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Andriana and her knight, Ronan, join a team of others set on rescuing the emperor’s twin brother from exile. A surprise attack places Andriana in the hands of her enemies: Sethos, a powerful sorcerer and Keallach, the emperor responsible for imprisoning the man Dri intends to rescue. When Dri witnesses Keallach’s powerful gift and his hunger for companionship with others of her kind, she becomes convinced he can be saved. She blames Sethos’ vile influence for Keallach’s treacherous actions and begins using her abilities as an empath to draw him toward the Maker and the Ailith ways. Her attempt risks everything. To underestimate Keallach could leave Andriana lost to her people forever.

Christian values and beliefs run clearly throughout this tale. Dri agonizes over instances in which her own desires appear to conflict with the Maker’s plans. She receives counsel and prayer from mentors when her thoughts and motives become clouded by anger and frustration.

She and Ronan continue to explore their feelings for one another, but they aren’t able to spend much time together as story events keep them often apart. The rest of the team does discover the relationship and react with fierce condemnation that isn’t really well-resolved. At first the other Ailith and knights are upset and then the issue largely gets forgotten. Other than that, the romantic thread definitely pulls readers through the story. Ronan’s chapters read less smoothly than Andriana’s sections, but the tension between Dri and Keallach will definitely keep readers turning pages.

Though this is the second book in the Remnants series, new readers should be able to follow this story with little trouble. Bergren does a great job filling readers in on past events without slowing the story down too much. Fans of Jill Williamson’s Safe Lands series will enjoy the fast-paced action and revolutionary themes of Bergren’s story.

Language Content
No profanity.

Sexual Content
Keallach uses his ability to manipulate Andrianna into kissing him. It’s clear there’s a strong pull between them that’s got some darkness to it. At one point he seems like he might take advantage of her, but nothing beyond kissing happens.

Spiritual Content
Andrianna and her friends are part of an elite group called Ailith. Each bears a birthmark and a unique gift bestowed on them by the Maker (God.) Characters pray throughout the story, for protection, guidance, etc. Andrianna learns she can’t depend on her own strength in battle, but that when she calls upon the Maker, she’s protected from sorcery and dark powers of her enemies, the Sheolites.

Violence
Battle scenes. Some detailed descriptions of battle injuries.

Drug Content
Keallach gives Andrianna alcoholic drinks that incapacitate her.

Review: A Time to Die by Nadine Brandes

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Clean Fiction, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , ,

A Time to Die
Nadine Brandes
Enclave Publishing

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Seventeen year-old Parvin Blackwater has less than one year left to live. Her Clock started counting down the moment she was born. Until now, Parvin has hidden from that fact, burying herself in sewing projects and sleeping late. Now, with only months left to live, she wants her life to count for something. She wants to be remembered.

As Parvin pursues a noteworthy life saving Radicals and writing her story, she becomes tangled in a political web that reaches much farther than her small town. As an outcast on the other side of the Wall, she faces death at every turn. With newfound faith and a team of unlikely allies, Parvin races to bring the truth to her people before her Clock runs out.

Though the title makes this story sound like a suspense novel, it’s much more a dystopian fantasy. In this story, the United States has fallen and is now divided east from west by a Wall only crossed by dissenters and lawbreakers. In the east, most believe that crossing the wall is a death sentence. And indeed, Parvin finds the west to be a hostile world.

The story world and characters are a little bit uneven. Some descriptions and characters are vibrant and detailed and others seem more vague or stereotyped. The premise is the real power punch in this novel.

The countdown clock keeps the story moving and the stakes climbing as Parvin’s time on earth grows shorter and shorter. As time dwindles, Parvin obsesses over how little is left. By contrast, her companion has thrown away his Clock and refuses to let what it said rule his decisions and choices. It’s a fascinating question – if you could know how much time you have left on earth, would you want to? How would it affect your daily life?

Language Content
No profanity.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Parvin wants to follow God’s plan for her life but often instead constructs her own plans. She often puts her faith in the Clock – if she has so many days left, that means she can’t die tomorrow, so whatever venture feels less risky.

She encounters a tribe of people who believe in protecting nature to an extreme. Anyone who breaks healthy branches or cuts down a healthy tree will be subject to severe punishment.

Violence
All descriptions are brief.

Several people are punished by a tribe (see above) for harming trees.

Two people battle on wires, trying to throw one another off balance until one person falls.

An unidentified man shoots one of Parvin’s allies and threatens to harm Parvin unless he cooperates.

Drug Content
None.

Review: Two Renegade Realms by Donita K. Paul

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Clean Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Two Renegade Realms
Donita K. Paul
Zondervan/HarperCollins

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Cantor and Bixby have spent the last few years serving as Realm Walkers. They cross through portals to other worlds to keep peace and protect anyone in need. Now they join forces again to stop two realms on a collision course with their homeland. The Realm Walkers Guild stands mired in corruption, so Cantor and Bixby will find no allies or aid there. Instead they set out to locate Chomountain, a man supernaturally gifted by Primen. They will have to find and free Cho before their homes are destroyed.

While the first book in the Realm Walkers series had a middle grade feel, Two Renegade Realms begins later, with Cantor older, wiser and much taller. The story takes on more of a young adult tone though its content remains safe enough for younger eyes and ears. The characters and their quirks make for a warm cast.

Between the action sequences, characters shuffle through and rearrange hampers, which always seem to contain fresh, wonderful foods and useful items. They enjoy many picnics and meals together. While those scenes are cute, some of them feel like filler – not much is happening. Some of the conflicts resolve easily – once so easily that even the characters comment on how simple the solution was. Instead of the action and suspense building to a mountain peak as the story unfolds toward its climax, it has more of a slalom feel with conflict and resolution repeating through the course of the tale.

Fans of Cantor, Bixby and Bridger will enjoy following more of their story and seeing how their relationships with one another have changed since the earlier novel.

Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Cantor and his friends are devoted followers of Primen in a monotheistic religion similar to Christianity

Violence
Brief battle sequences and some instances of peril. No gory details.

Drug Content
None.