Caleb & Kate

"Just don't fall in love with that Kalani boy and everything will be just fine."

Book: Caleb & Kate by Cindy Martinusen-Coloma, Thomas Nelson, 2010

Genre: Realsitic Fiction/Romance

Target Audience: Girls 15-19

Subjects: Dating Relationships, Family Relationships, Love

Summary: Caleb knows before he arrives in the mainland that he is not to fall in love with Kate. And Kate gets warned of the same soon after Caleb arrives. Yet, from the moment their eyes make contact, there is an attraction, a seemingly impossible pull towards one another. And so begins the forbidden romance.

Notes: This book is supposed to be a play off of Romeo & Juliet with all the suspense or cruelty. It's also supposed to teach about the love of God - which it does in one section in particular as the character realizes that God truly is love, that this statement isn't just a random phrase, it is truth. Love comes from God, that's why it can exist in a broken world. However, the romance between the characters is definitely off. You see them acting like they're in love before either one has spoken a word to each other. Then they admit to falling in love so soon after knowing each other. From the beginning, people are predicting or warning against their falling in love - before there is a reason for it. They claim they are in love, but from the beginning, their "love" is portrayed merely as extreme physical attraction to one another. This makes it tough to see this as a book to teach us about love. For the short lesson on the love of God, I'll give the book a 3. Outside of that, it's just a romance novel.

Recommendation Scale: 3/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

1 John 3:16 - This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.