Allie, I said I
was sorry. Sam kicked his foot on the ground, sending up a small pile of dust.
I looked up and gave him a withering look. If you hadn’t been at my house, none
of this would have happened.” Sam looked taken aback. “What?” “If I’d been there
with Mam, I could have saved her.” “Allie,” Sam whispered, hurt in his eyes. I
refused to meet his gaze. Instead I hugged myself as tightly as my too-small
black dress would let me and tried to fight the tears in my eyes.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Target Audience: Girls 13-20
Subjects: Loss, Salvation, Faith,
Adoption, Dating Relationships
Notes: This is a coming of age kind
of story, beginning with a young girl and taking us through years of her life.
It explores what kind of life someone would have if they closed themselves off
from love. Allie refuses to accept Christianity because her mom didn’t. She
refuses to accept love from her adopted mom because she is taking the place of
her first mom. She refuses to accept love from a boy because she’s too
determined to hang on to her anger and bitterness. It takes a combination of
multiple people determinedly showing Allie the love of Christ and a near
tragedy to get Allie to surrender to God and love. The story was written in
such a way that the Gospel message was summarized, rather than told, but it was
there. The book included verses, people sharing God’s love with Allie and her
surrendering to God when she finally hit bottom. Overall it does a pretty good
job covering it’s message: not to let fear of hurt keep you from accepting and
giving love.
Recommendation Scale: 4.5/5
Reviewer: J:-)mi
John 1:12-13 – But as many as
received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who
believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of
the will of man, but of God.
I received
this book for free in exchange for an honest review as a part of the Team Novel
Team Blog group.
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thoughts on this book please check out any of the following blogs:
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