A Soldier's Devotion

Slam! Before he can even react, Vince Reardon found himself catapulted off his Harley and into the rain-sodden intersection. Inside he is seething with rage at the stupid lady driver who hit him. She was too distracted on her cell phone to notice him in time to stop, and now his precious bike was splattered all over the road. If he wasn't in so much pain, Vince would have probably exploded in anger, but instead the woman saw a vulnerable part of him that he kept hidden. Worse yet, she was one of those praying Christians who insisted on praying over him unti the paramedics came. She pitied him, something he couldn't stand. Even worse still, she turned out to be a lawyer, the lowest form of life in Vince's opinion.

Cheryl Wyatt's latest novel, A Soldier's Devotion, starts off with a van-motorcycle wreck, promising action and tension from the very first sentence. In the sixth story of the Wings of Refuge series published by Love Inspired Books, the most cynical and crusty member of the Pararescue Jumpers is featured. Vince Reardon has already shown himself to be antagonistic to God, church, and Christians. He's a hard-drinking, sarcastic, biker dude who likes easy women and parties hard. Ironically, though, Vince is totally dedicated to his special ops team and their rescue work, belying a tender heart underneath all that grump and gruffness. He bemoans the fact that more and more of his team members are going "over to the enemy" by becoming Christian, yet he has a high level of respect for all these guys. His team members understand him better than he supposes: they know he has some deep hurts that have turned him bitter and hard.

Enter Valerie Russo, the van-wielding attorney who makes a bad--and painful--first impression on Vince. She believes God has brought her across his path for a purpose, in spite of the bad beginning, and she is determined to get through to him. So begins a battle of wills and stubbornness, with occasional misunderstandings alons the way.

Vince is the toughest of the team addressed so far, but as the story unfolds we learn what made him the way he is; the hardships of his life have served to both toughen him  for his job and to insulate him from human contact. He cares for others, as he shows with the teens, but he is afraid to open up with peers.

In a secondary story, a group of at-risk teenagers are introduced. They serve to bring Val and Vince together, but through them a serious social issue is addressed. This time it's abuse. Each one of Cheryl's books has included some issue like this, real issues that teens and adults deal with every day.

Cheryl Wyatt has a strong grasp on scripture and what it means to live as a follower of Jesus, and once again it shines through her writing. Her Christian characters live their faith in their daily lives; this is what makes a difference in each of her stories. Two of the guys have been praying for Vince for five years; patiently being real in front of him and not pouncing. There is an understanding here about  things happening in God's time and in God's way.

While A Soldier's Devotion is a part of a series, it definitely can stand alone. The characters from other books walk in and out of the story, but each novel is independent. It is a romance novel, so certain developments are fairly obvious from the beginning, but it still has nuances, turns, and humor that make it lively. Teens (at least 14 or so, anyway) will enjoy it as well as adults.

The way Love Inspired Books work, this will only be on shelves until the end of January in many stores. I found it at a large Kroger Store; I found Cheryl's other books at Target, Meijer's and Walmart. But since I got this review up so late, you can get it online after January ends at such sites as amazon.com, Barnes  and Noble, and christianbook.com.

• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Steeple Hill (June 1, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0373875320
• ISBN-13: 978-0373875320

ONCE WAS LOST by Sara Zarr

Sara Zarr has written a third outstanding novel that hits home with contemporary teens, but Once Was Lost will particularly appeal to Christian young people. Actually, this incredibly realistic story is going to shake up readers of all ages who have experienced the tightrope walk between faith and the real world. Neither saccharine-sweet nor worldly-wise cynical, Once Was Lost examines the life of a preacher's teenage daughter, her family, her church, and a mysteriously missing young member of that church.

Samara Taylor is the fifteen-year-old daughter of a pastor in a small town who is facing a crisis of faith while she and her father live a lie in public. Everyone thinks her family is the perfect picture of all things a pastor's family should be, but the chinks are showing, and growing, right from the beginning of this modern tale. People at church aren't sure why Sam's mother has been missing the past couple of weeks; the official word is that she is not feeling well, but there are these rumors. The truth is that the perfect preacher's wife has been a closet alcoholic who couldn't contain her problem any longer and is now in rehab. This leaves Sam with multiple battles that a girl her age shouldn't have to deal with all on her own. Yet she doesn't have her beloved mother to lean on, and her father--well, while he is quick to support and help everyone in the congregation, he doesn't seem to have a moment to spend with his daughter. He is struggling to keep up appearances, dealing with his his own hurts and demons, and quite oblivious to the pain that Sam is going through. In fact, Sam is at a point where she doubts the existence of this God she has heard about all her life. Add to that a financial situation that is spiraling out of control while Dear Old Dad kind of ignores it, an overly pushy young-lady-youth-group-leader (who is spending way too much time at Sam's house), and Sam's feelings of invisibility in the youth group...well, the sum is in negative numbers. Oh, and then there's the thirteen-year-old who just disappears without a trace right after church one Sunday. Sam finds herself more and more inclined to ask if there is a God at all. And if there is, how can He let so many terrible things happen?

Make no mistake about this: Sara Zarr doesn't tie it all up in a pretty package with a bow on top. She draws from her own experience and faith to write an honest account of the way life is, not the way we really wish it would be. Now I know most of us want that happily-ever-after stuff, but teenagers in particular sense when they are being snowed. They seem to be more open to honesty, even in fiction. This isn't to say that the ending isn't satisfactory--I think it is--but it doesn't follow a neat little formula. Come to think of it, neither does God. To quote C. S. Lewis, "He is not a tame lion."

I am far from being a teenager these days, but I still have left-overs in my very core from that period of my life, left-overs that are deeply affected by the struggles, the loneliness, the feelings of insignificance and confusion that Sam faces. Actually, I found myself crying at a certain point because the story so affected me. I can honestly say that I never really questioned God's existence once I came to know Jesus, yet I am painfully aware of the way many feel He has either abandoned them, doesn't care about them, or just doesn't exist. This novel isn't giving pat universal answers to the masses, but hopefully will make some connections that many need. The suspense and action of the story will certainly keep the pages turning. While the main character is a girl and there is a touch of romance, the emotions, the themes and the mystery will engage guy readers as well as girls. This is not chic lit.

Sara Zarr has written two other popular and critically acclaimed teen novels: Story of a Girl and Sweethearts. Story of a Girl was actually a finalist for the 2007 National Book Awards, a very big deal in literature. You can learn more about the author and her books at her blog here.

Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr

Publisher: Little, Brown Books (October, 2009)

Hardcover edition: ISBN-10: 0316036048, ISBN-13: 978-0316036047

Kindle edition: ASIN: B002ONPGIC

Audiobook: ISBN-10: 0307582302

Available at many bookstores everywhere and online at such site as Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book from the publisher Little, Brown and Company for the purpose of writing a review. However, I make no promises of positive reviews to any author or publisher and tell the sender this before any book is sent. In fact, there are several books I've received that never appeared on my blog sites because I couldn't honestly approve them.