Genre: Adult, Young Adult, Christian, Inspirational
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
From Goodreads:
A mysterious stranger helps a teenage boy called Ethan
rescue his mentor, an elderly father-figure, from drowning when their canoe
capsizes in a flooding river. A star athlete, Ethan later gets involved in
unsafe sex, which leads to drugs, and gets him blackballed by jealous and
gossiping team-mates. The boy is going down, and at times hates himself for it
and for hurting his mom who is a caring, loving, and beautiful woman.
After another disastrous episode, where Ethan might have
died, the river-stranger turns up again to confront him about his life choices.
However, even after rehab, the boy’s condition is marked by a yo-yo attitude
which causes massive emotional heartache for his mom.
The river-stranger, after sharing his own amazing history,
suggests taking the fight to another level which draws on the resources of God.
This begins a new and fascinating sequence of events, including a tornado,
which get Ethan’s attention.
The book is a captivating story, packed with adventure in
the desert Southwest and in the rivers and lakes of the Midwest USA. But it is
also a goldmine of spiritual wisdom for teenagers. The mystery that permeates
the story is compelling, and the thrilling ending may call for a tissue or two.
My Thoughts:
This is a book I definitely want to put on my shelves at
school. This book is as real as it gets
for a fiction book. Ethan is a young
high teenager who is headed down the wrong path in life. Lucky for him, his single parent mother and a
good friend of the family’s they call Popper are there to help him. I absolutely loved the way the author took
real life events, added stories from the Bible and lessons from life in general
and put it all together in this one book.
About the time I thought Ethan was cracking and was finally on the right
track, something else would happen to him. I became distressed because I saw
him harden his heart each time. I know
that God won’t win them all because we have free choice. I saw how hard Satan was fighting to draw
Ethan away from God. He was willing to
take Ethan’s life if that was the only way he could keep Ethan. But God is victorious. I love that this book can be enjoyed by
Christian and Non-Christian alike. I found the advice offered by the different
characters in the book could be applied to so many teens today. Anyone who reads this book will find
themselves in this book somewhere along the line. I’m not sure there are enough stars in the heaven
to give to this book.
About the Author
Ian Palmer lives near the mountains in Albuquerque, New
Mexico. He has a PhD in physics from Adelaide University, Australia. By
profession, he is a petroleum engineer, who consults all over the world. As a
Christian, Ian has always been fascinated by the interface between faith and
science. Of special interest to him are the powerful concepts of grace,
forgiveness, and insights from God. In his local church, he has taught Sunday
school classes on a wide range of inspirational but practical topics.
Ian’s six grandchildren are a source of joy when he plays
tennis or basketball or goes skiing or hiking with them. His hobbies include
hiking, dancing, tennis, eating out, and stimulating conversation. After a
dinner of cheese enchiladas with green chiles, Ian can sometimes be found
two-stepping in the local country-and-western dancehall.
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