Losing Faith
There are not enough YA books with cults in them. For serious, cults are fascinating and riveting. Losing Faith by Denise Jaden has a cult, thus making it full of win. It also has: character development, death, high school, home school, kissing and religion. Elements of appeal to me.
I loved the way Losing Faith unravelled and progressed. Each turn made sense to me. I was never thinking the F? I think there’s something to be said for a book lacking gaping plot holes. Also? Brie? Totally real teenager. She’s shallow. She cares about her make up. Her relationship is too huge of a priority. Yes, hi, thanks for reminding of when I was a teenager. However, Brie does grow. And she grows at what I would consider a realistic pace. Her change does not come over night, thank goodness. As far as characters go, I liked her reality.
Also, omg, this book passes the Bedchel test. There are two girls and they talk about something besides boys. *dances* I think maybe this book is worth reading just for meeting Terrible Tessa. Tessa is a girl with issues all her own, but she’s also a great friend, even if she has a rep for being a bully. I am sucker for books with characters who are more than what they seem, what can I say?
Finally, I like the way Losing Faith addresses religion. I don’t see a whole lot of religion in YA. When I do see religion I automatically worry it is going to be preachy. I think Jaden handled this aspect well. I never felt like I was reading a convert to Christianity text. I felt she showed religion can be a huge part of someone’s life. This can be healthy, yet it can also be taken to an unhealthy extreme (such as joining a cult.). I didn’t get the feeling that there was some sort of judging going on. We saw Faith as strong in her convictions, which didn’t paint her as weird, but courageous. We saw Brie as questioning, which again, I love, because so many people do question their faith and beliefs, yet I don’t often see that in books. Maybe I am not reading the right books? Anyways, I just, I highly recommend this book. It’s riveting, there’s a cult. There is KISSING. Definitely worth your hours.
Disclosure: Book received for review.
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Check Out Denise Jaden’s Website.
This post was written by...
April (Books&Wine) – who has written 1074 posts on Good Books And Good Wine.
April is 24 years old. She is an educator. In her free time she can be found reading, working out, or eating junk food. She often wears her sunglasses at night.
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Denise and I share an agent. I'm thrilled to see you loved her book!
I'm so excited for this one. Great review!
This sounds like a book I think I would really like.
Definitely sounds like a really great book! I can't wait to read it!
I haven't heard of this one, but it will go straight to my wishlist. I agree, the idea of religion, Cult and YA novel really appeals to me. Great post! Heading over to goodreads to add it to my wishlist…
awesome review.
and i just love the premise of this book.
I'm off to hunt it down…
I recommend solely because I love Denise. haha But I'm glad you enjoyed the book. I'm excited for it to be released. I actually pre-ordered it last week!!
-lauren
This sounds fabulous… going to put it on my library list right now.
Great review – it certainly intrigued me!
Hi April,
I work with an author who has written a fictionalized portrayal of Kelly Dae Wilson, a young woman who disappeared in the early 90s on suspect of cult activity. Religion plays a huge part in the author’s life, just like you mentioned in the book above. If you are interested I can send you a copy, just shoot me an email!
Thanks,
Sara
Hello Sara, sorry to butt in on your post, but I have been doing some online searching of an old friend. Some recent events in the Shreveport area have once again drudged up memories and serial killer rumors involving Kelly”s cold case and the other 3 or 4 young women who have vanished over the past 2 decades, in the Arklatex area. My question to you is I was wondering where I could get a copy of the book your friend wrote? I’ve always heard there had been a book about Kelly’s case wrote but could never find info on it. Thanks for your time.
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