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Review: Almost There by Laurel Garver

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

Almost There
Laurel Garver
Createspace
Available May 17, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Just before Dani and her mother escape to Paris for healing and restoration, Dani learns that her grandfather has been hospitalized. The Paris trip was supposed to be the inspiration to create the artwork that will make Dani’s mother a star, plus the project that will save Dani’s own grade in art class. Now, unless Dani can fix up her grandfather’s house, repair the damaged relationships between him and his children, and find someone to care for the ornery man while they’re gone, her trip is a lost cause.

Dani can’t give up, especially when she learns of her grandmother’s dreams that one day her mom would become a famous painter. As Dani struggles to make her life into the perfect happily-ever-after, she discovers that the people she loves most have other plans, other dreams than the ones she imagined for them. She learns that like her grandfather, she, too must learn to love others beyond what they do for her and for themselves.

I really liked this story. I found Dani easy to identify with. Her struggles with trying to make things turn out right for everyone else really resonated with me, as did her confusion over her feelings for her neighbor and her hurt over her boyfriend’s behavior toward her. It definitely echoed my own teen experience in some ways.

The faith elements play a strong role in the story, but they didn’t seem to dominate or steal the show. I liked that prayer was kind of a natural part of Dani’s life, and that the author included it in such an open, organic way. To me it felt more experiential and less preachy, which I think is a great thing.

If you liked To Get to You by Joanne Bischof, check out Almost There for the similar innocent romance and organic expression of Christian faith.

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Cultural Elements
All characters appear to be white. Dani’s family is wealthy as is her boyfriend’s and friend’s. She meets a boy from much more humble background.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Dani and her boyfriend are very close but have agreed not to have sex until after marriage. They share kisses, and she becomes nervous if she thinks he has ideas beyond that.

Spiritual Content
Dani and her friends pray at difficult intervals throughout the story. Dani shares her faith with her mom, not like salvation prayers, but more like sharing her current experience. For instance, she talks of learning to trust that God will work things out in her life. These deep faith moments happen as though they’re a part of normal life, which might be strange for some readers, but accurately depicts the kind of faith experience of some evangelical Christian families.

Violent Content
Dani’s grandfather becomes violent when he doesn’t get his way. Nothing huge, but his temper is definitely not under control. A fire leaves one man dead.

Drug Content
Dani worries about her uncle, a recovering addict. She learns that her friend’s dad is an alcoholic. The story shows no drug abuse.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

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Review: Battle of Beings by Nita Tarr

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

Battle of Beings by Nita Tarr
CreateSpace

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

When Gregory finds himself the winner of a large lottery, he knows there’s only one thing he wants to do with the winnings. He will travel to the Congo to help children. Greg and his two friends make the long journey together, but when they finally reach the mission, something isn’t right. The mission director acts suspiciously, and the children are simply too quiet. Greg and his team need to find out what’s really happening to the children at the mission and rescue them. Greg isn’t acting alone, though. All around and unseen, angels aid his efforts, waging war against a legion of demons who would stop at nothing to destroy every child in the mission.

I liked the way Tarr brought the story into the jungles of Africa. It was a fresh setting that definitely shined through the story. Greg and Jenny were a really cute couple, and some of their antics made me laugh – perhaps even ones that were supposed to be serious, though? I’m not sure.

As for the rhythm of the story itself, I felt like I was reading an early draft. There were characters and scenes that really weren’t well-integrated into the story as a whole. Scenes felt choppy. Characters were, at times, unbelievable. For instance, in one scene an angel character is having a conversation with Jesus and Jesus is clarifying that he indeed made up this word or that idea (all the ideas, because he’s God) and I felt like, the angel has been around for a long time. I couldn’t see him still wondering, hey, did Jesus make that up? Because surely it’s not the first time he’s thought about it after all this time?

On the whole, a lot of the story was interesting. It had a pretty solid plot. The Christian elements are pretty deep, and sometimes written in that sort of church-speak that some readers may find inaccessible. Readers with some familiarity with other novels featuring angels and demons may find this story most interesting and easy to follow.

Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Sexual Content
A boy grabs a girl’s chest and pressures her for sex. She tells him he’s crazy and begins to pray for him.

Spiritual Content
Angels and demons are characters in the story and behave according to Christian ideas. Jesus makes an appearance, having conversations with angels on top of clouds and later disguising himself as a human and participating in a fighting ring. Demons control humans, causing them to harm one another. Prayer and angelic warfare casts them out and returns the human to his or her normal self.

Violence
A creepy guy wears a necklace with human pinky fingers strung on it. Children are forced to take up guns and participate in an army led by a warped man. Giant spiders attack people in the jungle. Angels use swords to fight demons. Demons use canes and other weapons.

Drug Content
None.