"The Witness" by Josh McDowell

Josh McDowell has a remarkable testimony. The books that he has written are powerful tools for the Christian who needs answers for skeptics.
I've had the privilege to hear Josh McDowell speak in person, and his winsomeness and speaking ability make it easy to see why his ministry has blossomed so much. He truly has impacted many people around the world for the sake of God's truth.

This is the first fiction book I've read by Josh McDowell (I'm not even sure if he has any others). And, I must say that he did a very good job putting together an enjoyable story.

The main character is Marwan Accad, owner of a Middle-Eastern security company that caters to the ultra-wealthy. When one of Marwan's clients is assassinated, Marwan is framed for the hit. He must find a way to clear his name while keeping one step ahead of those who are now trying to kill him.

Along the way, he is confronted with questions about death, God, and eternity. The answers to these questions remain elusive - until God brings a few unlikely people into his path (as you can probably tell from the silhouette on the cover, he falls in love with one of them).

I enjoyed the story. It was fast-paced and had a lot of action. There was also a very good Gospel message throughout the book, which I love. Even the graphic scenes (and there was some violence and death, as well as some drug usage and immoral encounters) were written very discreetly and tastefully. It is hard for a Christian author to write realistically about the sins of those without Christ and to remain tasteful and gracious, but the author managed to do so.

However, while Josh McDowell certainly is a skilled story-teller, this book was not quite as polished as some of my other favorite thrillers. Sometimes the conversations were a little forced. Sometimes the scene descriptions were over-the-top, and sometimes they were lacking. But all in all, the book was a good read. I would have no trouble recommending it. And the ending may or may not be satisfying to you. (I, personally, was a little bummed at the ending...)

I finished the book in a couple of sittings, so if you are looking for a quick, enjoyable, and Christian thriller - try this one out.

"The Road Ahead" by Paul Chappell

Earlier this year, my wife and I had the opportunity to attend the Spiritual Leadership Conference at Lancaster Baptist Church in California. I had heard a few of Pastor Paul Chappell's recorded sermons, and I had even read one or two of his books. West Coast Baptist College was one of the institutions I had considered attending when I graduated high school.

But to be there at the church was quite an experience. It is very clear that the church has a lot of energy and passion for evangelism and for ministering to their community. The conference was excellent in so many ways! While I was there, I picked up this book (and a few dozen more...).

One thing I've learned about Paul Chappell is that he has an extremely fresh and soundly biblical perspective on ministry. He lies somewhere between old-school fundamentalism and the new breed of independent Baptist churches (such as some of the newer BBF churches - at least, from what I've seen in our neck of the woods). He is very hard to label without strictly defining (or RE-defining) the labels you are trying to stick on him. So, some of what he says in this book may catch you off-guard.

This book is a challenge to - and an honest evaluation of - the independent Baptist movement. He challenges us to shed some of our long-held (but grossly unbiblical, and border-line sinful) ideas about ministry, pastoring, and our relationships to other churches and Christians. It is no secret that the word "fundamentalist" gives us an automatic black-eye in the eyes of some in our culture. How are we to evangelize in such an environment? How can we present the love and grace in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ while so many see the name "Baptist" as indicative of intolerance, bigotry, and hypocrisy? There have been too many preachers filled with anger and pride, and too many moral failures have been covered up and mishandled.

With a strong plea to rally around the unchanging Word of God, Pastor Chappell gives some very helpful advice for independent Baptist pastors as we look to the future of our movement. He also includes some very interesting information on the history of the independent Baptists - some of which I'd read before, but some of it was new to me.

Paul Chappell writes with sincerity, Godly wisdom, and a love for the truth. He also has a passion for the men and women in ministry. This book was encouraging and convicting, stirring and sobering.

If you are (or if you have a friend or loved one who is) a young independent Baptist preacher, who perhaps is wrestling with the idea of being "branded" as one of "those Indie-Fundies", and is considering leaving the movement or dropping "Baptist" in their church's name - this book is a must read. There is hope.

I thank God for men like Paul Chappell who look beyond the idols of personalities and the petty conflicts regarding methodology. Let's get back to the real heart of ministry. Fantastic book.

"The Harbinger" by Jonathan Cahn

"The Harbinger" by Jonathan Cahn is supposedly this shocking book revealing how America fits into Bible prophecy. At least, that's what most people who like the book will make you think. I will tell you up front that I did not enjoy the book, nor did I agree with the premise.

Let me begin with my literary criticisms, then I will move on to the Biblical and doctrinal criticisms.

To begin with, I believe Cahn's choice to write this book about his interpretations of Bible prophecy as a fiction narrative was a disaster waiting to happen. The book had no action in it at all (despite the back cover making a comparative reference to the plot being like "a Hollywood thriller"). It was entirely made up of dialogue. And of this dialogue, easily 40% of the sentences were questions.... not GOOD questions, but questions like: "What does that mean?"  "How?"  "They didn't know?"  This made the reading very boring.  The unnamed "prophet" character had an annoying habit of dropping uninformative sentences, to which the main character (a journalist named Nouriel) would ask a clarifying question. It was painfully boring writing.
Here's a made-up example of a conversation between the two, which will serve to illustrate:

Prophet: "They should have known..."
Nouriel: "Who?"
Prophet: "The Israelites. They should have known, but they forgot."
Nouriel: "Forgot what?"
Prophet: "The prophecy."
Nouriel: "What prophecy?"
Prophet: "The prophecy about the tree."
Nouriel: "What tree?"
Prophet: "The tree that fell."
Nouriel: "Fell where?"

This is only the slightest of exaggerations. Much of the book felt like that conversation to me. So it was boring. The characters weren't well developed, and there was very little emotion - really very few "human" elements to the book at all. The author should have either written a better novel, or written this as a non-fiction book on prophecy. This book is repetitive, shallow, anti-climactic, and boring. And that's just my LITERARY opinion!

The story basically revolves around the conversations between Nouriel and the Prophet. The Prophet gives Nouriel nine ancient clay seals with images on them, and he uses the seals and images, along with Isaiah 9:10, to explain how America is supposedly following the same pattern as the ancient Jews. This pattern includes vows, warnings, signs, and judgments.

When you take away the seals and images (which do not actually exist - they are a plot device in the book to introduce the author's points), and the repetition, and the pointless dialogue, the author could have easily made his claims in a 40-page booklet.

I won't take the time to go through all of the book's contents, nor will I dismantle the Biblical errors one-by-one. But I will say that the author goes beyond the bounds of any reasonable hermeneutical principles on several points. The first one being taking that which was prophesied for ISRAEL and applying it to the USA. There is simply no biblical reason to do that. The author says that the founders of America thought they were creating a nation dedicated to God's purpose. But this is in no way comparable to God's actual chosen people, the Jews - nor does it compare to the actual covenant relationship God has with them. (God has no covenant with America, or any other nation for that matter).

The book just did not ring true. The author kept speaking of "ancient mysteries" more than actual prophecies (maybe because he knows in his heart that the PROPHECY was for Israel, not the US?). He also kept speaking of the "vow" of Isaiah 9:10, and how America's political leaders repeated this "vow" - and therefore defied God and invited judgment. I do not believe in magic words. If God is going to judge America (and I think He is already doing that), then it will be because of their rejection of Him and His Christ and His Word - not because they said the magic words of a made-up "vow."

Furthermore, the author made some REALLY HUGE stretches of imagination in order to make his parallel between Isaiah 9:10-11, and America's 9/11 attacks and Wall Street collapse, fit the frame of what he was saying. When you have to twist and contort things in order to make them fit, then you are doing damage to the Word of God.

For example, the Isaiah 9:10 prophecy mentions that a sycamore tree has fallen. Then the author claims that a sycamore tree was destroyed near Ground Zero on 9/11. The problem is, we English speakers just CALL both of these trees sycamores. They are totally different trees! It is equivalent to saying that the ancient prophecy talked about a barracuda, and applying it to a goldfish - because they are both "fish". The author makes these kinds of creative contortions with semantics all throughout the book.

When you strip all of this away, you are left with.....not much, really. There are much better critiques of "The Harbinger" available on the internet. But, please, read things like this with discernment - don't accept everything just because they sell it in the Christian bookstore.

I would NOT recommend this book - either for entertainment reading, or for Bible prophecy study.

"Black Sea Affair" by Don Brown

Special thanks to my sister for giving me this book! ***SPOILER ALERT!!!!****

This is the first book that I've ever read by Don Brown (not to be confused with Dan Brown...). I must say that the story was very gripping. And the cover is really cool.

The story centers around Russian plutonium that is stolen by Chechen terrorists who use it to create a hydrogen bomb. An American submarine is sent on a highly dangerous mission to intercept the freighter that is carrying the plutonium. As tensions between the Russians and the Americans escalate, things go terribly wrong. The US sub commander is arrested and transported to Moscow to appear before a military tribunal on charges of war crimes.

I really liked the pacing of the story. There was plenty of action, and lots of scenes were filled with political maneuvering, personal drama, and military tech/jargon. It definitely wasn't boring at all. There were several characters and story-lines followed for most of the book, so it stayed very interesting.

My biggest problems with the book are:

1. The dialogue was sometimes cheesy.... It is my opinion that conveying "spoken words" is the hardest part of writing fiction - so I am not usually too hard on authors for this. But the US President in the book just said some corny stuff. And almost ALL of the Russian characters had some "corn". (The Russian characters had this annoying habit of referring to everyone by their FULL name - multiple times in the same conversation. "Why do you say that, Nikolai Petrinkov?", and so forth. Maybe this is a part of Russian culture that I am just unaware of. But it got on my nerves a little bit.)

2. The guy that I thought was the main character, the JAG officer representing the sub commander at the tribunal, didn't even show up in the book at all until about 50 pages from the end. SERIOUSLY?!?! He is the first of only two characters mentioned in the description on the back cover of the book, so you would reasonably assume he was the main character, right? Needless to say, we didn't get to know that character well at all before the book ended. Speaking of that....

3. The ending felt hacked off and rushed. There is a difficult balance an author must strike between writing too much after the climax/resolution and hacking the book ending off. I definitely feel Don Brown did the latter. The bomb is intercepted and diffused, the US and Russia make peace, the sub commander and crew are returned home, and the sub commander is reunited with his kids - all in just a couple of pages.

All in all, it was a good book - and I'd definitely read some of Don Brown's other works. 4 out of 5 stars.
(Thanks again, sis!)

"What Love is This?" by Dave Hunt

Dave Hunt was a tremendous Bible teacher. He passed away in April of this year (2013). As I read this book, it became clear to me that this man had a passion for the Word of God. The amount of research that went into this book is absolutely astounding. I have read more "technical" theological books that weren't as well-researched and had much shorter bibliographies - and far fewer footnotes. There were literally at least 50 or so footnotes per chapter!

Dave Hunt tackled the sticky problem of Calvinism not in order to start a fight, but to expose the true roots of Calvinism (the Roman Catholic church) and to present the Biblical evidence that shows so strongly against it. After seeing the history of the doctrines of Calvinism, as well as the shockingly evil behaviors and heretical beliefs of a few of it's earliest adherents (John Calvin, Martin Luther, and St. Augustine), one wonders how ANY Bible-believing Christian could call themselves after the name of such heretics.

The sheer volume of verses in the Bible that the Calvinist is forced to re-interpret to fit the points of TULIP should be the first warning. Why not let the Bible speak for itself? Why "wrest" it to say anything? The weakness of the Calvinism framework is clearly exposed. Their web of strange doctrines fails to hold up under scrutiny. Dave Hunt does a SUPERB job of reviewing all 5 points of traditional Calvinism, and demolishing their presuppositions with the plain teaching of Scripture.

He uses HUNDREDS of quotes of prominent Calvinists' own writings in order to accurately represent their beliefs. He also does not shy away from the very tough Scriptures that are favorites of Calvinists to support their views. But, as you can see in this book, even in these tough passages there is NO Biblical support for 5-point Calvinism. This was important to me - because some of these very verses have troubled me for years. Calvinism seemed to lack the ring of truth to me, but these verses were very thorny; and I had no explanation for some of them.

Dave Hunt also took the noble and honorable step of letting some of his Calvinist friends review the early manuscript so they could correct him if he caricatured Calvinism wrongly. He included many of their critiques, and answered them accordingly.

This book is not nearly as technical as "Whosoever Will", which I reviewed here. But the use of Scripture in "What Love is This" was, in my opinion, more compelling than the arguments in "Whosoever Will".

If you have wondered about some of those troubling Bible passages, or if you have not come to a decision about Calvinism, then read Dave Hunt's book. Calvinism will be seen as an atrocious - and blasphemous - heresy.

The only negative is that much of the book is repetitive - because the 5 points of Calvinism are all contingent on each other, so many of the Scriptures and arguments show up in several places. But as a resource, this book is priceless.

I thank God for courageous and godly men like Dave Hunt who teach the Bible with simplicity and power. I pray that God will raise up more men like him.

"Get Connected: Mobilizing Your Church for God's Mission", compiled by Johnny Hunt

I was introduced to this book through a recommendation from a dear friend of mine, Bro. Ed Gibson. He is a man who is challenging the status quo of independent Baptists when it comes to world evangelism. The "traditional" way churches look at Missions has some very distinct flaws, especially in the 21st century. Let's not keep doing what we've always done just because it's what we've always done - let's do what works best to reach people with the Gospel. Brother Ed is leading the charge, in my opinion, for the necessary changes to independent Baptist Missions.

If you are familiar with Johnny Hunt, you know that he is a Southern Baptist pastor. I probably lost a few readers right there - but don't let his affiliation rob you of the chance to learn from this book. Johnny Hunt partners with about 5 other pastors in this book, mostly to share how God has challenged and changed the way their churches looked at world evangelism (yes, beyond even the SBC's "Lottie Moon" offerings). And I am not exaggerating when I tell you that the philosophy of Missions presented in this book is spot on and totally Biblical.

It is not a very long book - a little over 100 pages, I believe. Any church leader or church member who has a passion for world evangelism should read this book. Some of the common themes in the 6 or so stories presented in this book include church members getting PERSONALLY involved in the work of missions, as opposed to merely throwing some money in plate to go to a faceless missionary reaching a forgotten people group. This is how a church will catch fire for Missions - when the PEOPLE begin to fulfill the Great Commission themselves, instead of literally paying other people to do it for them.

Those words sound harsh, but that is about the extent of any sort of strategy in the average independent Baptist church: The pastor has a few college buddies that are missionaries - so he invites them to come present their ministry, the church takes them on for support, and the missionary sends a letter every few months talking about their broken down car and MAYBE a few conversions here and there. I'm being very harsh, but also realistic.

WHERE IS THE STRATEGY???? The Great Commission is the most serious task that Christ left to the church! How can we be satisfied with ourselves? What happened to CHURCHES having the burden for world evangelism, instead of a few (and getting fewer) full-time missionaries having the burden and having to BEG churches to support them? Meanwhile, this family will spend probably 5 years and close to $250,000 on deputation (rough estimate of average) BEFORE THEY WILL EVEN GET TO THEIR FIELD!

We can do better than this! We MUST do better than this! This book does not have all the answers, but it definitely will help you start thinking in the right direction.

I read this book, then my pastor read it, then we gave it to all our Missions Committee members and deacons. Our church is seeing the change of mindset already. We have a long way to go, but we are making real progress.

Please, read this book. It may help you see your part in the Great Commission a little more clearly.

If you would like to have a thought-provoking speaker at your church's next Missions Conference, I would highly recommend Bro. Ed Gibson. Email me, or contact me through Google+, and I'll get you his contact info.

"Earth's Catastrophic Past: Volume 1" by Andrew Snelling

Special thanks to Bro. Paul Lowe for loaning me this book!

I have long had a keen interest in the realm of the Creation/evolution controversy. As far back as I can remember, my parents were watching videos and reading books with me about the dinosaurs, the flood, Creation, and evolution. We attended several presentations and debates on the subject in my younger years.
I'm not sure why this fascination is in me.... I have a whole shelf full of books on the subject, and dozens of videos.

Anyway, so I wasn't dreading the task of reading this book - even though I knew it would be highly technical in some parts. This first of two volumes written by Andrew Snelling is a very thorough introduction to the scientific feasibility studies of Noah's Flood (more appropriately, the Genesis Flood). The first 200 pages are not terribly technical, and I believe most Christians would be greatly blessed and have their faith strengthened by reading this book (and other good books on the subject - send me a message if you would like some recommendations).

While the book is too lengthy to provide a point-by-point review, I will say that the author answered some questions about the Flood that I had never even thought about. Numerous possible critiques that could be used by skeptics are thoroughly covered here.

Let's be honest... many times as Christians we are guilty of merely blindly accepting what the Bible says... While we SHOULD believe the Bible as legitimate, accurate, and trustworthy history (even if we don't completely understand it), nowhere does God ever tell us not to try to figure out how things possibly took place. This book makes a very bold attempt in that regard.

One of the best parts of the book was the walk-through of the first few chapters of Genesis. It was like a bit of a scientific Biblical commentary - very interesting. The last 150 pages or so, however, were so technical in the geologist's language that I had no choice but to "skim" those pages for nuggets of truth. There was just no way I could comprehend all of the terminology and calculations that are peculiar to the field of geology.

I've been told that volume 2 is even better... We shall see. But don't expect that review any time soon... It took me several months to finish THIS volume!

Please visit these excellent websites for more info on this subject:
http://www.icr.org/
http://www.answersingenesis.org/
http://www.equip.org/

"Firsthand" by Ryan and Josh Shook

Well, it has been quite a while since I reviewed any books! Since I've had such a long break, I'm not sure whether to write a whole bunch, or to cut to the chase....

This book is targeted to a very specific audience: the young people that evacuate the church sometime after their magic 18th birthday. (We've all heard the statistics...) The theory postulated by the authors (themselves young adults) is that the reason these young people are leaving the church is that they have only managed to procure an "inherited faith" from their parents, Sunday School teachers, etc. Therefore, they are starting on a shaky foundation. Christianity isn't real to them because it is just spoon-fed information that they assume to be true. The authors sort of diagnose this problem (using real life examples from a study survey they did... I was one of the people surveyed! Cool, huh?); then they set about to show young "disillusioned" Christians how to rectify it.

I applaud the authors for attempting to tackle an apparently large problem in the church. Their passion for seeing young people become dedicated Christ-followers is truly commendable. But to be honest, I struggled to read this book. It was downright boring and cliche. The writing style was pretty weak, but the content itself left a lot to be desired.

First and foremost, I felt that the authors failed to make the case that their theory was valid.  Sure, they had lots of testimonies from people about how they never had "their own" faith... But that doesn't prove anything. There was only a small amount of outside research referenced in the beginning of the book. This gave me the feeling that they were fabricating a PROBLEM to fit the SOLUTION they had already decided upon. (I'm not accusing them of dishonesty - I'm just saying that's the feeling I got from reading the book).

Secondly, their remedy for the problem is overly simplistic. Again, not a lot of outside sources referenced... Just a kind of made-up list of stuff from Ryan and Josh Shook that will supposedly help the disillusioned young adults.... I'm seriously not trying to mock them, but why should we take their word for it? They failed to give us any reason to trust them (other than their own experiences). Not only that, but they didn't use very many Scripture references (in my opinion). A book like this should be chock-full of Bible verses.

In spite of the fact that !!!!I myself am quoted in this book!!!! (seriously... at the end of the chapter called "Question Everything."  It says, "John from Spring Lake, North Carolina" - they used one of my survey answers!); the book didn't really speak to me at all.

I'm not trying to be a killjoy - I hope some young people read this book and it makes the difference in their lives between being a "former believer" and a committed Christian. That would be amazing. I'm just saying, the book was disappointing to me. So, I'd have to give it half a star (because they quoted me). :o)

"The God Diagnosis" by Dr. Greg E. Viehman, M.D.

 Recently, my pastor placed this book into my hands, and simply said: "That's a great book."  Now that I've read it, I believe that statement is equivalent to looking at the Grand Canyon and saying, "That's a big hole."

This book is the story of Dr. Greg Viehman's journey to faith in Christ. I really didn't know what to expect when I started. This doctor was a stranger to me - I'd never heard of him. So, I figured it would be a typical testimony.(Doesn't that sound terrible?  How is it "typical" for ANYONE to be miraculously saved by the grace of God?)

The story starts with the description of Dr. Viehman and his restlessness in life. He had everything that life could offer - except peace. The questions in his heart about the purpose of life, and whether or not some things last forever, went unanswered for so long. He was lost, hopeless, unhappy, and frustrated. A few encounters with Christians left a fairly bad taste in his mouth - and he figured they didn't have any answers either.

Through a series of events, Dr. Viehman sets out to prove that Christians are hypocrites - to prove that the Bible is baloney.  Through careful, methodical study, he realizes instead that the Bible is incredibly true (this part of his story, which he calls The Investigation, is excellent! most Christians probably never realized how entirely reasonable it is to believe that Jesus is God, and that the Bible is God's absolutely true Word. It's not just a blind leap of faith!).

After coming to the conclusion that the Bible is true, God exists, and Jesus came to earth to die for his sins, Dr. Viehman is born again..... but there are a few surprises both before and after the fact! I can't say too much more, because I want you to read the book!

This book is perfect to give to anyone. If they are seeking answers, they might follow Dr. Viehman's journey and find them. If they are NOT seeking answers and peace and salvation, they might realize that they NEED to. And if they are already believers in Christ, they might be convicted that salvation is a miraculous work of God. - and that God is much nearer than we maybe ever thought.

Deep enough to intrigue the most skeptical mind, yet simple and understandable enough to reach anyone, this book is a powerful story. I just can't help but praise the Lord for his grace after reading such a fantastic true story of a journey to faith!  It makes me appreciate my own salvation testimony even more.

You can find more information on the book's website:  www.goddiagnosis.com

"The Road to Unafraid" by Capt. Jeff Struecker

 Captain Jeff Struecker is well-known for two reasons: #1 - Winning the Best Ranger competition in 1996, and #2 - leading part of the rescue effort in Somalia during the Black Hawk Down incident (yes, the same incident featured in the book and movie of the same name).

I believe he should be well-known for two other reasons. #1 - His outstanding Christian testimony, and #2 - his skill at writing. I previously reviewed the first novel that he co-authored with Alton Gansky (see here); and I was overwhelmingly impressed at the action, the story-line, the depth of the characters, and the Christian emphasis in that book... I'm planning on reading the next several books that this duo has written - they are on my list, but so are a couple hundred others, so it may take a while to get to them!

In this book, Capt. Struecker chronicles his early life and what led him to join the Army in the first place. He also details the personal love of pushing himself to the limits, which is the reason he became a Ranger. He pushed himself always to do his very best and to BE the very best - an ethic that stuck with him after he became a dedicated Christian. Struecker saw action in Panama, Kuwait, and of course Somalia; and he details some of the challenges and horrors of war that he faced in those situations. He writes with gut-wrenching emotion, holding nothing back. He probes the deepest parts of his own mind and spirit to give his readers the clearest picture. The result is truly captivating.

But the most captivating part of the book, at least to me, was how he faced the challenge of deciding to follow Christ. And I'm not just talking about getting saved - I'm talking about his change of lifestyle to stop smoking, drinking, swearing, and listening to rock music (while already a Ranger - imagine the pressure!). I'm also talking about his decision to go to seminary and enter the ministry (he became a chaplain). These stories are highly inspirational. I wish every man could read this book to see that being a Christ-follower is not a sign of weakness.

The book ends with a lengthy pep-talk for the reader - and a clear sign pointing to Christ as the only hope for mankind for eternity. If you want to read a book that will challenge you to push yourself to the limits for Christ, then read this one. If you have a loved one who is in the military, and is facing the questions of life and eternity, give them a copy of this book. Struecker handles these issues in a way that no one else but a combat veteran and committed Christian could present them. And most importantly, Jesus Christ shines through this story as the true Hero and Savior.

"Soul's Gate: Well Spring, Book 1" by James Rubart

This is the third book by James Rubart that I've read, and all of them are impressive and stimulating. The man can write some great stories - and his books are some of the most spiritually challenging and uplifting that you will find.
This book revolves around a prophecy concerning four people that will do great spiritual battle. This is the beginning of a series, but it also stands nicely on its own. While I am not a believer that God gives prophecies anymore (since the completion of the perfect Word of God), the themes and topics covered in the book greatly challenged my thinking concerning the power of prayer and the power of Christ in the Christian life.
So far, all of Rubart's books I've read have a Yoda-type character. This guy is always wiser than you think he is - staying one step ahead of the game. The book is full of redemption, forgiveness, and victory.
But with all that said, there are two big negatives. The author makes use of a cuss word.... Why, WHY do these authors feel it is necessary? Now, I will give him a little slack that a demon was the character who said the word - and the word was "hell", but it was obviously a cuss word and not a reference to the place. Big no-no.
The second was that, at one point, the characters shared champagne in celebration. I am of the conviction that Christians should not drink. Ever. Period. But that's a topic for later.
The characters are real, but not terribly deep. The scenes are powerful, but sometimes predictable. And the dialogue was sometimes a little cheesy. But not a bad book. "Rooms" is still way better.
I received this book free from the publishers in exchange for my honest review.