Wake

Title:  Wake

Author:  Lisa Mann

Publisher :  Simon and Schuster, Inc, 2008

ISBN:  978-1-4169-7447-5

Audience:  Ages 14 – 18.   I would suggest that the target audience is older and more mature teens.  The main characters are teenagers from families that were drastically impacted and changed by traumatic events.  The issues raised in this novel can easily cross all racial and socio-economic lines.

Summary:  Wake is a novel that is centered on the “not-so” normal Janie Hannagan.  Janie is a typical high school junior whose sights are firmly set on attending college.  She works part-time, does well in school and spends time with her friends, as long as they are awake.  Janie avoids anyone who is sleeping because she can, against her will, be pulled into the sleeper’s dream.  While there, she is fully aware of everything that is going on, including experiencing everything the dreamer does.  Outside of the dream, however, her body is paralyzed, blind to anything that is happening around her.  The novel takes us through Janie’s struggles to maintain a normal life when everything around her is anything but normal.  Once she comes to grip with what makes her different, she begins to accept who she is a little more.

Central literary elements at work in the story:  Lisa Mann gives us multiple characters in this novel about whom we want to know more.  We have the most background information on Janie, though even that is incomplete.  We get a small glimpse of eight year old Janie, as she first learns what she can do; however, the major character  development for her is Janie as a teenager who is raising an alcoholic mother.  Through Janie’s relationships, we are introduced to Carrie and Cabel, whose stories are made more interesting by the secrets they are keeping.  Even the more minor characters of Melinda, Mrs. Hannagan and Miss Stubbins all have secrets, but they are secrets that are not fully revealed as the novel ends.  The entire book is written from Janie’s point of view and though it is not written in first-person, it has the feel of a personal narrative.  Written in the style of journal entries, we follow Janie from minute to minute, hour to hour, and day to day.  Even though we receive a few quick glimpses into the past, the bulk of the novel takes place over a period of one and a half years. Seeing the lives of the characters in what easily begins to feel like real-time makes the events of the book realistic and believable, even the most  bizarre elements of the story.

How the book presents gender, race, culture, economic status, age, etc:  Though Mann doesn’t seem to tackle race relations with this book, I think it is because the ethnicity of the characters is irrelevant.  They could really be anyone from anywhere.  Mann does, however, touch, only slightly, on the issues of the elderly, who happen to be Janie’s favorite people to be around because “they don’t sleep soundly”.  We get small glimpses into how a family handles the loss of a child, alcoholism and drug  abuse, division and prejudices that stem from economic difference and how a young  person deals with the possibility of being homosexual.  All of these issues are dealt with on a very surface level, some so slightly you might even miss them.  It almost seems that  any one of these things alone is too heavy to be fully handled alongside the challenge of  entering dreams; when all of them occur, it is impossible to address well.  What does partner well with the main plot of dream travel are the silent issues of emotional, physical and psychological abuse.  I referred to them as silent, because none of them are ever directly mentioned or addressed during the novel, but they all scream off the pages, almost from the very beginning.  They are played out in the actions and dialogue mainly between Janie and Cabel, and though neither of them talks about it (other than a small conversation near the end of the book) both characters wear the scars of their abuse.  The reader is also given this since that they both want to be anyplace other than where they are.

It also strikes me that the responsible authorities throughout this book, parents, teachers, even Janie’s co-workers and employer are largely absent.  They are present in that we hear their voices occasionally, see them in passing even; but they are all emotionally disconnected for the main characters, absent from their lives.  Although the parents are often not the primary focus of teen novels, it speaks loudly that the parents in this novel who are around seem to have checked out on their children.

Theological Conversation Partners:  One good partner for this novel could be Galatians 6:2 “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”  Janie spends a lot of time trying to isolate herself from people.  However, we see a change in both her and Cabel as they open up to each other, sharing their secrets and relying on one another.  This bond begins to be shared with Mrs. Stubbins and Janie as well.  But that is a story for another book, Fade, which is the sequel to Wake.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. As we enter the dreams with Janie, each dreamer asks Janie for help, regardless of the nature of the dream.  What could be the significance of the dreamer unconsciously asking for help?
2. Once, Janie enters her mother’s dream.  She seems to be aware of this when she wakes and leaves the room.  Why for you think this is?
3. Believing there are no coincidences, Janie enters Carrie and Cabel’s recurring dreams over and over again.  Why is she drawn to these two people and them to her?
4. If God gifted you with the ability to travel into people’s dreams, what might your purpose be?

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student LaDonna Harrison.

Smack Dab in the Middle of God’s Love

Title of Book:  Smack Dab in the Middle of God’s Love

Author:  Brennan Manning and John Blasé

Illustrator:  Nicole Tadgell

Publisher and Publication date:  Tommy Nelson (a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.), 2011

ISBN number:  978-1-4003-1713-4

Audience:  Ages 4 – 8

Summary:  Childless couple, Willie Juan and Ana, share much of their lives with the neighborhood children.  One evening Willie Juan asks a question ‘What do you think Abba will ask you in heaven?’  The conversations that follow, while eating Ana’s homemade sopapillas, help the children to understand that they are smack-dab in the middle of God’s love and that all the good gifts in their life are from God.

Literary elements at work in the story:  This story starts off acknowledging that ‘smack-dab’ is fun term to use and say.  It gives its definition as ‘precisely in the center’ and then throughout the story has a repetitive use of the term ‘smack-dab’.   The book drives the term home by reminding us that ultimately we are smack-dab in the middle of God’s love for us.  Reading the book aloud and encouraging the audience to say ‘Smack-dab” with the reader each time it appears, would be a fun way to involve the audience in participating.

Presentation of gender/race/culture/economic status/age/disabilities/etc:  All ages and genders are represented in the illustrations in the story.  The setting is in a small, modest Mexican village but many races are also represented by a variety of skin tones and hair colors and textures.  The story has a strong sense of community and sharing with ones neighbor.  The story introduces Hispanic culture in a way that explains the terms to those who may be new to them.

Theological conversation partners:  John 3:16-17, Romans 8:39, James 1:17, Heidelberg Catechism Question 1.  The story also has a conversational style that allows the reader to imagine their own questions and responses to Willie Juan.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. What do you think Abba will ask you when you get to heaven?  (Willie Juan’s question)
2. What will you ask God when you get to heaven?
3. If you’re smack-dab in the middle of God’s love, what is smack-dab in the middle of your love?
4. What are some things should be smack-dab in the middle of your love?
5. What might it look like to love God?
6. What are some good gifts that you have been given from God?
7. What are some ways that you can share your gifts from God?
8. Who are the Willie Juan’s and Ana’s in your life?

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Lisa McClennan

See the Ocean

Title of Book: See the Ocean

Author: Estelle Condra

Illustrator: Linda Crockett-Blassingame

Publisher: Ideal’s Children’s Books

ISBN: 1-57102-005-5

Audience: K – 3rd grade

Summary:  Nellie and her brothers Gerald and Jamin always go on a family vacation to See the Ocean.  They always have a contest to see who will be able to see the ocean first.  Nellie usually never plays with her brothers until one year Nellie was the only one that could see ocean. This is a compassionate story about a girl that, although blind, can see the world in her mind and spirit.

Literary elements at work in the story:  The story reminds you of yearly family vacations.  The reader will experience the day in the cool salt water, play with siblings, stories told by parents and laughter shared among them all.  The story takes you through the beach vacations when Nellie was a little baby until she is a young girl.  The poetic imagery used when Nellie describes the ocean is captivating and paints a vivid picture in the mind of the reader.  In this picture book, the oil paintings support the story well.

Perspective on gender/race/culture/abilities/disabilities/economic:  The story is about a Caucasian family (a mother, father, and three siblings) taking a yearly beach trip to see the ocean.  Their daughter, Nellie, is blind.  Although this story portrays the family to be of one race this story can easily apply to any race or culture.

Theological Conversation Partners:

John Calvin explains that there is an inherited notion that we all have implanted within that God gives us awareness of God. “God has implanted in all men a certain understanding of his divine majesty (Institutes pg. 43).  All creation has come to the knowledge of God to the extent that God “repeatedly sheds fresh drops” of this knowledge to us in an attempt to renew our memory and awareness of God on a regular basis.  We cannot deny this awareness that is given from God to all and to do so is of our own doing because we all have been given the awareness from birth.

For Calvin, another way we know God is through creation.  “…he not only sowed in men’s minds that seed of religion of which we have spoken but revealed himself and daily discloses himself in the whole workmanship of the universe.  As a consequence men can not open their eyes without being compelled to see him” (Institutes pg. 51-52).  Calvin points to the nature of God as our creator and in observing God’s creation we can come to know God. The universe becomes as a “mirror in which we can contemplate God, who is otherwise invisible” (Institutes pg. 52-53).

We also come to a  knowledge of God not in the searching for him but in the awareness of God’s mighty works at play in our lives on a consistent basis.  We come to this awareness not on our own but by God’s revelation to us through God’s works. Calvin says that we come to this knowledge of God’s mighty words through the revealing spectacles of scripture.  The true knowledge of God, for Calvin, is found in scripture.  Calvin says that scripture is like spectacles.  The scripture gives us a clear picture or knowledge of who God is without confusion

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Where did Nellie’s family go every year?
2. Did Nellie like the ocean?  How do you know?
3. How did her parents explain the ocean to her?
4. What competition did the siblings have on the way to the ocean?
5. Did Nellie participate?  Why do you think she did or didn’t?
6. Who saw the ocean first on the last trip?
7. How did she know what it looked like?
8. What experiences have helped you to form an image of what God looks like?
9. What experiences have helped you to know God?
10. How does scripture help you to know God?
11. What do you think God looks like?
12. Who is God to you?
13. Draw a picture, create a collage, or write a poem or letter to express who God is to you.

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Phanta Lansden.

Tear Soup

Title of Book:  Tear Soup

Author:  Pat Schwiebert and Chuck DeKlyen

Illustrator:  Taylor Bills

Publisher:   Grief Watch (June 1, 2005)

ISBN:  978-0961519766

Audience: 10 and up

Summary of Book:  Tear Soup is about a woman, Grandy, who has suffered a loss in her life.  To help process her grief the woman cooks up a batch of “tear soup” of which the ingredients are the emotions she has experienced. Along the way she dispenses a recipe of sound advice for people who are in mourning or know someone who has suffered a loss.  This story validates the reader grief experience.  The book ends with a nice summary of Grandy’s journey, “I’ve learned that grief, like a pot of soup, changes the longer it simmers and the more things you put into it. I’ve learned that sometimes people say unkind things, but they really don’t mean to hurt you…and most importantly, I’ve learned that there is something down deep within all of us ready to help us survive the things we think we can’t survive.”

Central Literary Elements:  Tear Soup is a modern day fable that is beautifully and poetically written.  This story book is about a woman who has suffered a loss and cooks up a special batch of “tear soup,” blending the ingredients of her life into the grief process.  Tear Soup has incredible insight into the grieving process and puts it into a simple metaphors that makes it understandable.  It also helps those going through it see that they are normal, and helps those trying to be there for the grieving person understand what their loved one is going through.  This story illustrates that it acceptable for every reader to absolutely do grief “their way.”  This book has rich illustrations and will generate topics of discussion for the reader.

Perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/abilities:  This book may be difficult for preschool children to understand the significance of all the metaphors.

Theological Conversation Partners:  John 14:18, Psalm 46:1, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Where is God when you feel alone?
2. How long is the grief cycle? How do you cope?
3. What does metaphor of tear soup represent in your life?
4. What other types of loss do people deal with during the course of their lives?
5. Is there a difference between grieving the other losses and grieving a love one that has died?
6. What smells evoke memories of a loss? How do you manage this from day to day?

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Tim Tate.

Son

Title:   Son

Author:  Lois Lowry

Illustrator:

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Publication Date:  October 2012

ISBN:  978-0547887203

Audience:  Ages 10 and up

Summary: Son begins in the same controlled community and at the same time as The Giver. Twelve-year old Claire has been assigned to the role of birthmother. This means that at about age fourteen she will be artificially inseminated and officially designated a Vessel.  Her baby will be called a Product and she will never see it, know its sex or its name.  Claire has discussed this with the other birthmothers in her dormitory so she has some idea of what to expect.  But the delivery does not go as planned; a C-section is required; Claire cannot have another child.  She is soon sent to work in the fish hatchery but not before she learns that she had a male child and his number is 36.  Working at the fish hatchery gives her the opportunity to visit her son, to play with him, to love him without ever being identified as his mother.  She learns that he is scheduled for release and then, that he has been kidnapped by Jonas and taken from the community. Claire makes her escape simultaneously by a river barge.  With a gap of time and memory, Claire is washed up on the shore of a village, bounded by the treacherous sea and an insurmountable cliff..  Here she remains for seven years, regaining her strength and her memory, and determining still to find her son. Lame Einar, one person who reached the top of the cliff, helps her prepare for the grueling climb out and warns her that at the top awaits Trademaster, who cut off Einar’s feet because he refused to make a trade.  An arduous, dangerous climb brings Claire to the top of the cliff where Trademaster awaits her.  To find her son, she must trade him her youth, and she does so with no hesitation. Then as an old woman she watches her son, Gabriel, grow. No one knows who she is until she is near death and tells her story to Jonas, the community leader who brought Gabriel there over 14 years ago.  Jonas knows the nature of Trademaster and sends Gabriel to confront him for Claire is near death.  Gabriel goes without weapons, with  only his gift, the ability to enter another person’s mind and emotion and understand how the other feels.

Literary elements at work in the story: While the novel begins in a dystopian community, it enters a wider world and becomes a struggle between good and evil, a timeless battle that transcends the genre.  Claire’s physical preparation for the trip and the climb up the cliff match the ordeals of any dystopian heroine.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story?  In the original community, giving birth is a low status role.  There is a consciousness of which jobs are prestigious. The village where Claire is washed ashore makes some distinction in gender roles.  It is a poor village, somewhat primitive, with no social classes..  Though the quartet is futuristic, beyond the first section of the novel, this could well be Europe in the dark ages. . In the village where Claire finds her son, outsiders are welcomed, handicaps are accepted.

Theological Conversation Partners: At least four themes run through this novel: the first is the power of  love and empathy; the second is the power and nature of evil; the third is individual gifts and their use in the community; and the fourth, the power of story and memory. There is a tendency to idealize Mother Love; Jesus has words to say about familial love that conflicts with the demands of his Kingdom. This story, however, is about parental love that will not let go. Evil is considered a force rather than a person.  Gabe’s realization that Evil will starve without the misery of its victims is reminiscent of Screwtape waiting to devour Wormwood. The weapons used to fight evil are a firm resolve not to kill, the ability to identify with and experience Evil.   Gifts are given for the benefit of the community and they disappear when no longer needed.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Would this story work as well if a father were searching for his son?  Why or why not?
2. How does Claire’s community guarantee that mother’s will not bond with their infants?  Why is this desirable?
3. Claire is consumed by the desire to find her son; no sacrifice is too great.  Can the love of a parent for a child be selfish or unhealthy?
4. How many aspects of unselfish love are exhibited in the story?
5. Gabe has the gift of “veering.”  How does this enable him to know that he had a mother?
6. Why did Claire wait so long to tell her story to Jonas? What happens when she does?
7. What is Gabe’s first weapon in going to meet Trademaster?
8. How does Gabe’s gift of veering enable him to defeat Trademaster? What is the cost of this identification with Evil?
9. Trademaster is considered to be a force rather than a person.  Does this square with the biblical view of evil?
10.  In the Apostle’s Creed we say, “He descended into Hell.”  Think about Gabe’s experience of identifying with Trademaster.  What light does it shed on this phrase?

This review was written by regular contributor Virginia Thomas.

Messenger

Title:   Messenger

Author:  Lois Lowry

Illustrator:  None

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Publication Date:  Reissue September 2012

ISBN:  978-0547995670

Audience: 12 and up

Summary: Matty, a lively boy entering adolescence, lives with Seer, his blind guardian, in Village, once a welcoming and healing place for all. But this is beginning to change.  People are growing selfish; they want to close the village to any newcomers who, they say, have too many needs.  Seer and Leader suspect the baleful influence of the Trade Mart and Trademaster.  People are trading their inmost selves to get such things as a Gaming Machine or a better appearance.  When Village votes to close its gates, Seer knows that he must send for his daughter, Kira, who lives in another village and who is lame.  She had stayed there to use her gift with needle and thread to embroider a new life for the violent, cruel village in which she lived.  Matty, who hopes his real name will be Messenger, is sent to tell all nearby villages that Village gates are closing.  He goes first to Kira to bring her to her father.  Matty has discovered that he has the gift of healing and he offers to heal Kira before they start for Village, even though he knows how much vitality and strength this will take from him.  Kira refuses and they start back through Forest, only to find it has become hostile to them.  Branches stick them; vines entangle them; the stench makes breathing almost impossible.  Matty is called to use his gift in a costly, remarkable act of healing that restores Forest and Village and restores Kira to her father.

Literary elements at work in the story: The genre is dystopian fiction. The tension and danger of most such novels takes a slightly different form here. The gifts used in the story’s conclusion veer into fantasy or magic rather than dystopian fiction.  Evil is represented by a consumerism that encourages selfishness and that affects the natural world.  The trip through the forest that Matty and Kira make is vivid, frightening, horrifying.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? The reasons people of the Village give for closing their gates express racial and cultural prejudice and prejudice against those handicapped. Neither gender nor economics affect the story.

Theological Conversation Partners: Messenger opens up a number of topics for theological exploration: evil, suffering, ecology, responsibility, stewardship of gifts, identity, community. In the two previous  communities, an evil pattern of life was already established. Here Lowry telescopes the results of materialism, consumerism, selfishness into a rapid change in the entire character of Village. Is this an adequate concept of evil? Explore Genesis 2 and compare. Lowry and the Bible personalize evil.  Compare Trademaster with Satan or the devil.  Kira claims her lameness as part of her identity-“Who I am.” Does our faith encourage us to accept handicaps as identity, as something to keep?  When does my healing take from the community-a question that lurks in discussions of medical care today.   Biblical characters are given new names-Abraham, Jacob, Peter. Compare this with the names given in Village. Matty is reminded to use his gift carefully, not to squander it.  This is in contrast to the story Jesus told about the Master who demanded that his servants invest their gold coins. (Luke 19: 11-27, Matt. 25:14-30)  Both ideas could be included in the stewardship of gifts.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Villagers give reasons for wanting to close their gates to newcomers.  What are these and are they used when we discuss immigration today.
2. When Matty arrived at Village he lied, stole, and avoided responsibility.  What made him change?
3. Why did Kira refuse healing.  What did she mean by, “This is who I am?” Was she right?
4. Leader tells Matty about using his gift: “Wait for the true need, Matty,. Don’t spend the gift.”  How does he recognize the need?
5. Names were given to indicate the true nature of the person.  What would your name be?
6. Can you think of times when you can trade your true self for something you want-popularity? Good looks? Success in sports or grades? Other?
7. Selfishness affects the natural world, making Forest hostile.  What is the connection between selfishness and global warming, for example?
8. Do you think the author gives an accurate picture of the Village before Trademaster comes?
9. How can a community protect itself from influences the cause us to be selfish, cruel, dishonest?
10.  In Christian theology is selfishness the root of all other sins? What other sins mar us and our world?

This review was written by regular contributor Virginia Thomas

Gathering Blue

Title:   Gathering Blue

Author:  Lois Lowry

Illustrator:  None

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Publication Date:  Reissue September 2012

ISBN:  978-0547995687

Audience: 10 and up

Summary: Kira, lame since birth, has just left her mother’s body in the Field of Leaving and she faces a dangerous and uncertain future.  Her father was destroyed by beasts in a hunt and she lives in a village that discards weak and useless persons like herself, that fights and quarrels for food and goods.  Her neighbors are ready to stone her for her plot of ground but she is miraculously saved by the Council of Guardians.  Her skill with weaving and embroidery equip her to repair and care for the Singer’s Robe, a robe that tells the history of the people from the beginning, through ruin, rebuilding growth, and ruin…Kira (her two-syllable name indicates that she is at least 12) is brought to live in the Council Edifice, a survival of the last Ruin, an elaborate building with indoor plumbing.  She is supplied with abundant food, comfort, and all the supplies she will need to restore the robe worn by the Singer at the village Gathering each year. At this event the village hears their history sung. Jamison, one of the guardians, checks on Kira’s work each day and tells her that she will finish the story that is incomplete on the Robe.   Kira’s life is brightened by a single-syllable boy, Matt, from the Fen and his dog, Branch.  He often accompanies her to see Annabella who is teaching Kira to dye threads.  She has no way to make blue and suggests that beyond their village blue can be found.  Matt sets off to find this blue while Kira, prepares for the Gathering and Song.  This event reveals to Kira some of the dangerous secrets of the Guardians and the community.  Matt returns with the plant for blue and with Kira’s father, Christopher, who had been attacked and left for dead in the hunt.  He lives now in the village of healing or broken people and wants to take her back with him. Kira makes a difficult choice between leaving with her father or staying to complete the story on the Singer’s Robe.

Literary elements at work in the story: Kira’s story is a futuristic, dystopian novel but it could easily be read as a story of a European village in the dark ages.  Only the Council Edifice is a reminder of a more advanced civilization in the past. In contrast to the community of sameness in The Giver, the disorder and discord of this village are palpable. The concrete information about plants and dies gives credibility to the story.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? Different roles for men and women are clearly defined.  Girls are not allowed to learn to read. Disparity between those raised in the Fen (swampy slum) and people of the village creates a class distinction.  Special abilities are recognized and used by the village.

Theological Conversation Partners: Again memory plays a crucial role in this story as in the life of the Christian community. There are echoes of Genesis as the Song begins.   A contrast between how memory is kept alive in the village and in the church is a fruitful study.  The value on life in the community and in the Christian life is another area to compare and explore, with special emphasis on the place of children.  (Mark 10:13-15)  The village where Christopher lives highlights different approaches to the treatment of immigrants and those with special needs.   Kira’s lameness and her attitude toward it furnish an area for discussion.  ( 2^nd Cor 12:8-10  )  Finally, how Kira chooses to use her gift, opens up the question of stewardship and choices.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. What is your impression of the village in which Kira lives? Is there any evidence of fairness or justice?
2. What place did the Ruin Song have in the village life?  Why was it important? What part does memory play in our community or national identity?  Our personal identity?
3. In what ways do Christians remember?  Why?
4. How are children valued in the community?
5. Why is Kira’s life spared? Is she being treated kindly or being used?
6. What is Kira’s attitude about her pain and crippled leg?
7. Kira realizes that the Singer is chained, a prisoner, and that Thomas, Jo, and she herself are also prisoners.  “The Guardians with their strength and cunning were forcing the children to describe the future that they wanted, not the one that could be.” What is Lowry saying about control of artistic expression and the future of children?
8. Kira’s father describes the village of healing.  What aspects of life there are good?
9. Kira chooses to stay behind when her father leaves and use her gift to complete the robe? Why does she make this choice?  What impact will it have on the village?
10. Two sticks placed together on the Council Chamber wall are objects of worship though their meaning is no longer remembered.  Do these represent the cross?  Do we sometimes have crosses as jewelry or ornamentation when the meaning is forgotten?

The Giver

Title:  The Giver

Author:  Lois Lowry

Illustrator:  None

Publisher:   Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Publication Date:  Reissue September 2012

ISBN:  978-0547995663

Audience:  Ages 10 and up

The Giver, the 1994 Newbury Award winner, has sold over eight million copies worldwide, been translated into at least 20 languages, and is required reading in most upper elementary or middle school classes.  It is often seen as the genesis of young adult dystopian novels that are so popular today.   It is also one of the most widely banned or challenged books on school library shelves. When Lowry ended The Giver she said it was finished; she had no plans for a sequel. Time, innumerable requests from readers, and possibly the death of her son, an Army pilot, prompted her to reconsider. Gathering Blue was published in 2000; Messenger in 2004. Son, 2012, brings The Giver quartet to its close. The four books can be read as independent stories; The Giver and Son are more closely related than the middle two volumes. All four occur in roughly the same time period in three different settings with several of the main characters appearing in each of the volumes. While Lowry’s, direct, clear prose is accessible to good upper elementary readers, the themes of this quartet are most appropriate for middle school and beyond.

Summary: In some distant, undated future, Jonas lives securely with his family in a community where everyone has food, clothes, shelter, education, and an assigned work for life.  It is also a controlled community without color, animals, seasons, music, love, or choice, a community of sameness. At age twelve Jonas is chosen to be the Receiver of Memories, the most honored role in the community.  He prepares for this task by meeting with the Giver, an elder, who holds in himself all the memories of the past and the wisdom that comes with them, for this is a community that has chosen to live without the pain or joy of memory.  The Giver recognizes in Jonas the gift of “seeing beyond,” first indicated by his ability to see color. He transmits to Jonas by touch memories-of joy, family holidays, seasons, sailing, sledding, pain, warfare, loneliness, hunger, and cruelty. In his time with the Giver Jonas learns the high cost of the peace and security of his village.  Those who are old, newchildren who have special needs, those who are disruptive are “released,” a euphemism for lethal injection. Jonas and Giver begin to plan how Jonas might escape to Elsewhere and how the community could be freed for a richer life. These plans are disrupted because Jonas must rescue the toddler, Gabriel, from release. Jonas abandons the careful plans for escape in order to leave immediately with Gabe. Bicycling by day, hiding by night, Jonas and Gabe finally encounter snow and the promise of Elsewhere.

Literary elements at work in the story: Lois Lowry, with powerful imagination and literary skill, has created a dystopian society that lulls and deceives with its peace and security while subtly destroying the capacity to know, to feel, to establish relationships. Her clear, matter-of-fact prose brings the community to life in almost a monotone. This community has technical resources-the ability to control climate, to eliminate color- that are implied and are an important aspect of dystopian fiction, but Lowry gives few details about these. No summary can do justice to this tense, well-plotted novel.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? In this community there are few differences.  Birthmother is considered an inferior role but in most instances male and female are equal. All are provided with the same food, clothes and houses.  Intellectual ability distinguishes some community members; non-conformists are simply removed. Members are unaware of other cultures or a world outside their own.

Theological Conversation Partners: The Giver is a goldmine of theological themes for Christians to explore: memory, vocation, gifts, love, relationships, the ability to choose, the value of life, the ideal community.  The Bible calls us to remember. ( Ex, 13:3; Lk. 22:14-19).  What happens when we suppress memory? Each Christian has a vocation and a gift?  Paul speaks of his call, of the gifts that are given to the church community by the Spirit.(1 Cor.12:4-7) Jesus calls us to a life of persecution and hardship and is called “The Suffering Servant;” the community plans so that there will be no hardship or difficulties. (Matt. 5:10,11)  Genesis tells us that we are created in the image of God and taking life is forbidden in the Decalogue. This community eliminates life that is disruptive or a drain on its resources..  The Kingdom of God is a central biblical concept, a time when God’s justice and love will be the basis of community, when God’s will is done.  Historically groups have tried to plan perfect communities and they have always failed or lost more than they gained.  In what way does the Kingdom of God differ from these utopias?  Does God’s will established mean there are no choices?

Faith Talk Questions:

1. What good things do you see about the community in which Jonas lives?
2. What things are undesirable?
3. Why is memory essential to a community and why has this community limited memories to just one person?
4. How many decisions rest in the hands of the Committee of Elders?  Why does Jonas think, at first, that this is a good thing? Are mistakes a necessary part of life?
5. While family units are important in the community, is there any mention of marriage or love? Did these units work well? How were spouses chosen?  Is there any good in this system?
6. Is it possible to have meaningful relationship without risk or pain?
7. Is there such a thing as a disruptive life?  A life that costs too much to maintain?
8. Jonas had a special gift that enabled him to see beyond his community of sameness.  Paul suggests that every Christian has a gift for the enrichment of the church. Do you recognize gifts in others in the church?  In yourself?
9. The Christian’s term for the ideal community is the Kingdom of God.  How would it differ from Jonas’s community?
10. On what basis was a life work assigned in the community?  How will you choose your vocation? What part does the church have in guiding your vocational choice?

This review was written by regular contributor Virginia Thomas.

The Miracle Stealer

Name of Book:  The Miracle Stealer

Author:  Neil Connelly

Illustrator:

Publisher:  Arthur A. Levine Books, An Imprint of Scholastic, Inc.

ISBN:  9780545131957

Audience:  Grade 7 and up

Summary:  Six-year-old Daniel is the “miracle boy” of Paradise, Pennsylvania. People come from near and far because of his reputed healing powers.  When a new wave of Daniel hysteria threatens to overtake the town, Daniel’s nineteen-year-old sister Anderson decides to take action to prove once and for all that her little brother is just a regular kid with no miraculous powers.

Literary elements at work in the story: Anderson’s candid first-person narration makes this novel read like a good memoir.  As she struggles to make sense of her family and of her town and of the events which have led to her own crisis of faith, the people who populate her life emerge as rich and complicated characters.  One crucial summer in Andi’s recent past provides the catalyst for this attempt at understanding her life.  The plot of the story becomes somewhat knotty as she examines the interwoven events which lead to the story’s climax.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? In her bitterness over the role she thinks the church has played in her family’s troubles, Andi ridicules the Universal Church of Paradise in particular and religion in general.  Belief in God is something that is behind her, and followers are made to look like gullible yokels.   However, as Andi continues her story, she admits that there are mysteries which she cannot explain, including those surrounding her brother.

Theological conversation partners: This is a story of a lost paradise.  The fish in Paradise, PA have died in the lake, the amusement park is abandoned, and the tourists no longer come for the summer.  This tangible disintegration echoes Anderson’s loss of spiritual innocence. Her father has abandoned the family, and she sees members of the religious community as dupes at best and frauds at worst.  There was a time “back when things were right and I thought God was there with us, hovering above and listening attentively,” Anderson remembers, but that time is long gone.  This book would be a good one to use with teens or even adults in conjunction with the Genesis 3 story of the Fall in a discussion of what it means to have a mature faith.

Faith talk questions:

1. You might divide the Grant family’s life into “before” and “after.”  What do you think their life was like before Daniel’s accident?  How was it different afterwards?
2. Why do people think that Daniel has miraculous powers?
3. Why does Anderson, “Andi,” want people to leave Daniel alone?
4. Why do you think the Pilgrims decided to follow Daniel?
5. Leo tells Andi, “Faith is accepting possibilities, not absolutes.”  How can faith be about possibilities?
6. Andi ends this story with the answer “maybe.”  Do you think that “maybe” is a hopeful answer?  Why or why not?

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Beth Lyon-Suhring.

I Am Number Four

Name of Book:  I Am Number Four

Author:  Pittacus Lore

Publisher: Harper.

ISBN: 978-0061969553

Audience: Ages 14 and up

Summary:  This is a science-fiction story about an alien race’s struggle for survival from an evil enemy.

Literary elements at work in the story: There are elements of love, suspense, action, violence, and faith in this book.  Number 4 is a teenage boy from another planet with developing abilities that far surpass any human. He is caught in a vicious battle that caused the destruction of his planet. Throughout the book he is unaware of what will happen next. The story is not heavy on science fiction, but it does have some other worldly creatures and battles. Number 4 is coming of age in this story and learns to trust his friends and himself.

(How) does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story?  The main character is from another planet but experiences many things a normal teenager does such as love, being accepted, being unsure of yourself, and bullying. His culture has told him that his race falls in love with someone forever. They would not be tempted by another and once they have made their mind up, they have done so for life. This element of Number 4’s race does play a role in his love life with Sarah. He would do anything to protect her.  Sam is another main character. He is a human who befriends Number 4 (John). He shows a great example of how we are to treat others that are different. He soon finds out the truth about John and accepts him for who he is.

Theological conversation partners:  Hebrews 12:1-2.  “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, ²looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.”   Number 4 is surrounded by those who have given their lives so he could live. This includes all the people from his home planet, as well as his mentor Henri.  He is called to continue to run the race that is set before him to save his people from annihilation. Our race is a little different, but none the easier. We are called to keep the faith, remembering those who have influenced us and guided us. Our job is not easy because, like Number 4, the end is not always clear cut. We must keep our faith in the risen Lord throughout our trials and doubts.

Faith Talk Questions

1. What are some things you doubt about yourself?

2. Have you ever felt out of place?

3.  Tell of a time you have felt like you were meant for something great.

4. Have you ever lost someone close before? How does Number 4 deal with Henri’s death?

5.  What would you do if you were from another planet and you began developing legacies?

6. Have you ever moved before? How did you feel in a new environment and new school?

7. How could you befriend someone new at your school?

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Russ Pearson.