Tag Archives: Jonathan Friesen

Review: Unfolding by Jonathan Friesen

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Unfolding by Jonathan Friesen

Unfolding
Jonathan Friesen
Blink
Published January 31, 2017

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About Unfolding

Jonah’s been in love with Stormi pretty much since the day the twister plucked her up from her home and set her down unhurt in his neighbor’s yard. Mysterious, beautiful, and a gifted mechanic, Stormi often senses things before they come to pass. When one of her premonitions results in a girl’s death, the town rallies against her. Jonah follows her, determined to clear Stormi’s name. In the process, he uncovers a dark secret the town has kept for most of his life.

My Review

Friesen has this ability in his writing to craft guys you can’t help but root for. His heroes have all the odds stacked against them, huge obstacles to overcome and of course hope for impossible love with the most beautiful girl. Which pretty much means I love his novels. Unfolding was no different. It’s a quick read, too—I think I tore through it one evening in just a few hours. So much happens in the story that I kept turning pages and barely noticed anything else.

One of my favorite things about the story was the way the more whimsical/supernatural elements intersected with the reality-based parts of the tale. It gave the story kind of an otherworldly vibe but still left it in a largely contemporary setting. I don’t know if that makes sense. I liked that blend. Sort of like Twister meets The Village, if I can use movie references.

If you like contemporary stories with a paranormal edge to them, you should definitely check out Unfolding. Fans of the Beautiful Creatures series The Raven Boys should add Unfolding to their reading lists.

Content Notes for Unfolding

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
The story takes place in a small Midwest town. Jonah has scoliosis. At times this seems pretty debilitating, but he doesn’t let it stop him from doing much of anything he wants to do. He also has seizures. See spoiler section for more on this. One of Jonah’s friends seems like maybe he could be on the autism spectrum, but it’s never clarified.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Jonah believes rumors about Stormi having sex with other boys. Stormi’s adopted brother repeatedly makes advances and comments to her which she dodges and ignores. Jonah feels some intense attraction toward her, and a couple of times references feeling a heightened physical response to his desire to be with her. The comment is about as oblique as I’m being here.

Spiritual Content
Like a prophetess, Stormi knows things she couldn’t possibly know and warns the town about events to come. Sometimes they heed her warnings and other times blame her for things she predicted.

See spoiler section.

Violent Content
Reference to murder and rape. A man recollects that it was horrible listening to the sound of his daughter being murdered and not being able to stop it. Two people die in an accident. A cult-like group of men threaten to kill one of their own after he betrays them.

Drug Content
None.

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

SPOILER

Jonah learns that his town is under a curse. Years ago, innocent teens were murdered. The townspeople covered it up, and now it seems this curse will punish them for refusing to acknowledge the lives lost.

Resolving the curse stops Jonah’s seizures. I wouldn’t think much about this except that I recently read an article about the representation of epilepsy in literature, so it made me consider this character and plot in a different way. One of the things the article discusses is the way that having seizures equated to a curse or something like that is it sort of draws a connection between seizures and evil, which perhaps perpetuates a stigma about epilepsy (which people once used to believe meant demon possession).

While I don’t in any way think this was the author’s heart or intent, it did strike me that, for someone reading this book who has epilepsy, this could be a disappointing component to the story.

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Top Ten Authors on my Auto-Buy List

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Top Ten Tuesday is an original meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme asks participants to list the authors we keep on auto-buy. As soon as we know there’s a new book coming out, we’re already planning when we’ll read it and requesting the galley or placing a pre-order.

Finding favorite books is always a treat, but finding an author who never fails to disappoint is a whole other kind of fun. When a new release hits shelves by these authors, I know I’m going to buy it. Here are my top ten auto-buy authors followed by snippets of some of their book covers. Enjoy!

(These are listed in no particular order.)

1. Markus Zusak

2. Jonathan Friesen

3. Stephanie Morrill

4. Laura L. Smith

5. Marissa Meyer

6. Leah Cypess

7. Jenny B. Jones

8. Lemony Snicket

9. Jacqueline Woodson

10. Jennifer Donnelly

How about you?

Do you have a list of authors whose books you automatically buy? Which authors would make your top ten list?

Review: Both of Me by Jonathan Friesen

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Both of Me
Jonathan Friesen
Zonderkidz Books
Published December 23, 2014

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On the run from a past she can’t bear to face, Clara retraces her the journey outlined in her father’s journal. Then a captivating, broken boy derails her. He sketches things he shouldn’t know. Images from memories she wants to forget. And she can’t let him out of her sight until she understands how he knows these things.

But following Elias means a trip into fantasy. The boy has two parts – the gentle Elias who soothes Clara’s fears and the rough, unpredictable one who lives in an imaginary world called Salem and a great evil to the east. As Clara falls ever deeper in love with Elias, she vows to follow his quest to the end, hoping it will unite the two versions of him.

I’m a huge fan of Friesen’s writing. Jerk, California pretty much blew me away, and I really enjoyed Aquifer as well.

This story, unlike the others, is written from a female point-of-view. Friesen does a great job bringing Clara to life – she’s spunky and fierce and knows how to manipulate people, but there’s a softer side of her, too, and Elias brings that out in her. There was one moment in which I was a little disappointed by Clara’s response. Something huge happens and she sort of calmly responds. I was waiting for the realization of the greatness of the loss she’s experienced, and I felt like that didn’t really come.

I really enjoyed the way that he brings Elias and Clara’s stories together. It wasn’t what I expected – it was far better. Much like Friesen’s debut, Jerk, California, the journey Clara and Elias take is spiced with interesting characters and events. This author has a great eye for character and for taking small moments and making them really memorable by delivering them via those unexpected bystanders to the story.

Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
Brief kissing. It’s clear Clara is a sexually experienced girl (no details offered), and she offers herself to Elias, but he puts on the brakes pretty quickly.

Spiritual Content
Clara has a lot of bitterness toward God. In a moment in which she feels she’s lost everything, she begins praying. Instead of the usual suffocating feeling of guilt about her past, a peace envelops her. She begins to pray with more confidence.

Violence
None.

Drug Content
None.

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

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Review: Aquifer by Jonathan Friesen

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Aquifer
Jonathan Friesen
Blink YA
Published August 6, 2013

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Fifteen year-old Luca has grown up with a heavy burden of responsibility on his shoulders. In a world plagued by drought, only his father has the knowledge and ability to journey deep underground and negotiate with the fearsome people known as water rats for another year’s supply of water to be pumped up to earth’s surface. Luca painstakingly memorizes his father’s instructions to navigate the caves below, for one day it will fall to him to make that lonely, life-preserving journey as the Deliverer.

Life on the earth’s surface is carefully monitored and controlled by the Council of Nine and their representatives, called Amongus, who sniff out any dissenters or citizens who cannot master their emotions. Those who cannot obey the law are “undone,” taken out to the middle of the ocean and drowned.

As the day approaches for Luca’s father to make the long journey into the dark, Luca discovers a hidden treasure, one the Amongus would surley destroy. Luca’s father begins his trek to negotiate for water before Luca has a chance to show his father the secret treasure. When his father does not return at the scheduled time, Luca’s world is thrown into chaos. Suddenly he is the new Deliverer and he does not have his father to guide him any longer. But it seems the Amongus have other plans for Lucas and the future water supply, and Luca must move quickly if he is to escape entanglement in their deadly traps. In order to flee, Luca must embrace a faith which doesn’t make sense to him, and dare to behold a world beyond the one the Amongus have confined him in. One in which water rats are not twisted monsters and beauty is not a thing to be feared.

In this novel Friesen brings powerful prose to a story that is sort of Waterworld meets The Giver. Aquifer allows readers to experience a raw longing and searching for faith and universal truth. At every turn, Luca experiences the struggle to sort allies from enemies, and as chaos and desperation bring out both the best and worst in those around him, discerning friend from foe is no easy task. Over all this is a really enjoyable story with a lot of suspense and a little bit of romance. Fans of dystopian fiction will find this one a worthy addition to their reading lists.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
A few brief kisses.

Spiritual Content
Religion is outlawed, but some citizens (referred to as Wishers) secretly pray to a Creator and believe they hear guidance and direction from him.
Violence
Brief battle scenes between Amongus enforcers and Luca and his supporters.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: Jerk California by Jonathan Friesen

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Jerk California
Jonathan Friesen
Speak
September 4, 2008

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Sam Carrier can’t sit still. He jumps and blurts and twitches almost constantly. That’s the nature of the beast. Tourette’s Syndrome. The only solace he finds and the only time his limbs obey comes when he runs. But after his embarrassing graduation ceremony, everything changes. His angry step-father expects a large monthly sum for rent, and an unorthodox neighbor hires Sam, but only on the condition that he can use Sam’s real name, the name his real dad gave him. Jack.

Everything is complicated further by the recurring appearance of the beautiful Naomi, who always leaves Sam feeling like he’s not sure which way is up. When the new mentor in Sam’s life sends him on a bizarre quest, and Naomi decides to tag along, Sam finds himself wondering what the catch is. They take off, not knowing where they’re going or why, but trusting that it will unravel as they go.

Sam is funny and lovable, even in his anger. His search for the truth about his own past and for connection with other people is real, endearing, heartfelt. I read the book in just over 24 hours. I read parts aloud– the butter part was hilarious!

Jerk California is a great story. In reading it, I felt like I could identify with and understand the struggles Sam faced, not just in his life, but with Tourette’s. Really well done. A story to read more than once.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Light profanity.

Sexual Content
There is one scene in which two characters intend to have sex but are interrupted before they get very far into preparing.

Spiritual Content
As Sam seeks to unravel the mystery of the man his father was, he wrestles with doubts and anger toward God. Through the story he meets several compassionate Christians who speak into his life about spiritual things. Sam’s spiritual journey felt very organic– just a guy struggling to understand his past and his place in the world really asking natural spiritual questions.

Violent Content
Mild. Some references to his step-father’s violent temper, etc.

Drug Content
None.

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