Today begins a new blog tour for the Christian Fiction Review Blog, also know as CFRB. It is our pleasure this month to spotlight Chenoa's Spiritual Journey, a delightful tale by Becky Jane Dice.
This little novel for Young Adults is a hidden treasure that has had little or no fanfare, yet it represents an amazing blending of cultures, a coming of age story for a Native American girl who has to leave the life she has always known and then tragically loses her parents. Not only does Chenoa have to deal with the typical teenage drama and changes, she has all this other baggage weighing her down. Add to that lots of discrimination in her new school. Her parents leave the reservation where she has always lived and move to Ohio, in the Cleveland area, in order to make a living. Tragically, they are soon killed in a car accident. Poor Chenoa and her little brother are suddenly orphaned and left with her father's friends, a very kind couple, but it isn't the same. The one bright spot for Chenoa is a very handsome neighbor who takes an interest in her. Only problem is, his girlfriend doesn't like it at all. Chenoa finds out just how mean girls can be.
It is indeed a spiritual journey for Chenoa as well as an emotional one. Brought up in a Christian home but surrounded by the traditions of her people, she is now trying to understand what it really means to be a Christian, and why God would do all these terrible things to her.
This is the first installment of a series of stories about Chenoa, but I can tell you that it has a satisfactory ending. Yet there is a promise of more to come. I would heartily recommend this one for teen girls in particular, but I think guys might like it as well. Great idea for summer reading, for diversity studies.
Be sure to read the blogs on our main site, http://cfrblog.blogspot.com/ for the rest of the week. David Brollier will expound there with amazing insights on Chenoa's Spiritual Journey. Other members of the CFRB (see the list in the sidebar to find links) will also be posting reviews and interviews throughout the week. I will have more to say as well. Other blogs that I am aware of are Back to the Mountains, Rebecca Wire, Laura Davis, and Queen of Convolution.
Book Details
Chenoa's Spiritual Journey by Becky Jane Dice
Paperback: 294 pages
Publisher: Airleaf Publishing; 1 edition (February 27, 2006)
ISBN-10: 1600020658
ISBN-13: 978-1600020650
Publisher: Airleaf Publishing; 1 edition (February 27, 2006)
ISBN-10: 1600020658
ISBN-13: 978-1600020650
Author website: http://members.fortunecity.com/beckyjdice and http://www.authorsden.com/beckyjdice
Author prefers that you purchase through her website, or you may email her at writingforhim@sbcglobal.net . Presently, copies of the book may also be obtained through amazon.com or barnes and noble.
3 comments:
I'm glad you mentioned that young men might like this novel as well as young women. And you guys out there, take some notes. You'll learn what it takes to move a girl's heart, and what will close it down. I especially like the reality of the awkwardness Dakotah and Chenoa share as they embark on a budding relationship. What ensues is just fabulous.
I like the comments Jane has on her website. Writing about a characters spiritual journey often helps us to clarify our own. The books sound intriguing. I love Native American lore, being part Cherokee.
I suppose that part of my own interest is because I, too, have some Cherokee blood. And we all have a spiritual journey of our own, even though many people never realize it.
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