Jake's Choice

Ten minutes into his first college party and he was already cornered. He hadn’t had even a sip of alcohol since about nine months ago. He’d realized then that the new church thing he was checking out didn’t mix with all his old activities, and so he’d bravely left and never looked back. Now here he was again, but this pressure was even worse!

Book: Jake's Choice (To Save a Life) by Jim and Rachel Britts, Outreach Publishing, 2010

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Target Audience: Boys and Girls 16-25

Subjects: Sex, drinking, dating relationships, accountability, homosexuality, friendships, relationships with parents, abuse

Summary: It all comes down to support and accountability. Jake has changed. He’s not the same person he was before Roger’s death. He’s accepted Christ and turned his life around. But then he goes to college. Alone. All of his support system is gone and the pressure is on to be like he was before. The other guys on the basketball team expect him to drink like them. The hot girls won’t take “no” for an answer. And Church? All Jake can find are a bunch of old unfriendly people in the Churches he checks out. Nothing that makes it worth getting up for on Sunday mornings. Amy is great, but she’s far away and Jake just isn’t sure anymore. Then there’s Amy herself. She’s not sure about everything anymore. She’s changed too, made some choices and intends to stand strong to those choices – whether Jake likes it or not. Can their relationship survive the change? Can their faith?

Notes: This book picks up right exactly where To Save A Life left off. It’s a great follow up to the story – primarily because it’s so real. Jake finds that it’s not so easy to stand strong and stick to his convictions when he’s away from his support and accountability back at home. Jake and Amy both face very strong and very real temptations and struggles. The book provides characters that are right there encouraging them and challenging them to make choices that are in line with what the Bible teaches. It’s focused on the college scene – this book covers a couple of years after Jake leaves for college so the characters are older. It makes it valuable not just to teens, but to young adults as well.

Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi