The Passage

 “That’s the problem. I don’t know what God wants, and as far as I can tell there aren’t any Scriptures that say “You should or shouldn’t be with Mark.” I rolled onto my back and put the pillow over my face and screamed into it.

Book: The Passage by Sarah Anne Sumpolec, Moody Publishers, 2005

 

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Target Audience: Girls 14-18

Subjects: Dating relationships, relationship with parents, bullying

Summary: You know, sometimes it would be nice if the Bible came with specific details, like “Thou shalt date Mark” or “Thou shalt not date someone who is leaving for Seattle in a few months no matter how attractive”. But it doesn’t. So Beka starts ignoring it and trying to solve things on her own – which basically means – do whatever she wants at the moment. That plan doesn’t seem to be working too well though. Mark and Josh are both interested in her – highly interested. Both want to take her to a dance and she’s not sure her dad will allow either one, let alone both. Throw Gretchen back into the mix and life gets even more stressful as Beka waits for Gretchen to destroy her life in revenge for telling about the fire. Oh yeah, then there’s the worry that her dad will start dating Gabby who Beka really doesn’t like. Surely life is supposed to be easier than this!

Notes: Gotta admit, the teen romance drama drives me nuts as Beka goes back and forth between guys, but the author does a great job portraying Beka as very realistic – imperfect, but moldable. Beka pushes the limits and does things deliberately against her dad’s rules, feeling them to be unfair. She tunes out what she hears in regards to Christ and what He wants of her. But when she finally comes to her senses, she realizes that her dad had good reasons for his decision and at this time, pulls her Bible back out and realizes that even if it doesn’t spell out names of potential boyfriends, it provides exactly the answers she needs. Because the Bible is frequently brought up and portrayed as being where to turn when life gets confusing, and because the wise adult characters and using it and prayer as the source for their decisions, I can highly recommend this book in spite of too much teen romance drama for my person tastes.

Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

2 Timothy 2:22 – Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.