I'm not Muslim so I don't have personal experience, but this book seems to do a good job of portraying what it's like for an American teen. It works in a lot of the normal teen situations and shows how the religion relates to them. It also shows how everyone is mostly good. There is someone who is thought to be a good person by most and who isn't. I've seen the same with someone who's supposed to be Christian. I enjoyed it and was ready to get back to reading when I had to take a break to work. Since it's intended for a younger audience, I'm assuming they'll like it even more than I did.

I'll be honest, when I first saw the cover of "Saints", I made the assumption that it would be a compendium of revered figures in Church history. Then I saw the subtitle, "Becoming More Than 'Christians'", and decided to investigate further. I was sufficiently intrigued to request it for review, and I am glad that I did! Rather than a tedious monologue, I discovered an engaging and stimulating call to return to our first love, Jesus. 

With "Saints", Addison Bevere sets forth a timely exegesis of what that term actually means within the Bible's context and how we can and should strive to apply it to our lives so that it becomes ingrained into our identity. As Bevere explains, saints are those who have faith in Christ and are in a continually-deepening relationship with God through Him; "a saint is someone who brings a future reality into the present." As a language buff, I appreciate how he expounds upon the semantics of the Bible's use of the term "saints" over "Christians." Furthermore, I find his open acknowledgement and explanation of seemingly contradictory facts or statements in certain Bible passages, such as those relating to fearing the Lord and also not being afraid, wise; as such, I would recommend this book to nonbelievers, especially those with an agnostic bent. 

Bevere is in tune with today's society and its Gospel needs, accurately pinpointing some of the most prominent areas of spiritual dearth and pointing readers toward the source of abundance: Jesus. He makes it clear that while nothing can separate us from God's love (Romans 8:38-39), we can separate ourselves from God's grace because “Pride is the grace blocker.” I love how he progresses from the Old Testament to the New Testament because so many focus only on Jesus in the New Testament. "Saints" is truly where the rubber meets the road of our faith journey, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to take their faith in Christ to the next level. Onward and upward! 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell and was under no obligation to post a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Had this novel ended after 200 pages, I probably would have called it well-observed, low-key, a little distant and foreign to me. There is relatively little incident in it, though most of the main characters end up getting physically injured, through fist-fighting, snake-bite, geriatric falls or other happenstances of life in a somewhat rough-and-tumble, very small Italian town post WW II. It is told from the point of view of Vittorio, a young boy, but with a fairly adult understanding (though without any spoilerish references to future events). We are, however, left to glean for ourselves, from the plentiful evidence, that Vittorio's mother Cristina - effectively a single mother, since her husband has emigrated without her to America - has had an adulterous affair and is now pregnant. Much of the novel shows Cristina defiantly dealing with the fallout of this in her family and small community, where she does not conform to expected behaviour. Meanwhile, Vittorio also feels the backlash at school (it is a sympathetic schoolmistress who preserves him from the worst of the after-school bullying by holding him back to sweep the floor and listen to stories of the lives of the saints).

Cristina escapes into the big world - specifically an ocean liner taking her and Vittorio to Halifax, where she does not intend to re-join her husband. Here are a brand new set of characters and a brand new set of social mores (there's a fairly amusing byplay with the Captain's jealous wife). But the real world turns out to be too big and cruel for Cristina, and there is a catastrophic conclusion for her and her unborn child. I've left that vague for the sake of future readers, but I suppose even that deserves a spoiler tag.

For me, the first part of the novel was a pleasant read, but it was the conclusion, with its sudden, violent action, that gripped me and that now remains chiefly in my memory a few weeks after finishing the book.

This is book #2 in the All Saints High series.  This book can be read as a standalone novel.  For reader understanding of the series, I recommend reading this compelling series in order.

Knight is the best friend to the very love of his life.  They have grown up together, the children of parents who are also best friends.  More like family.  So being in love with her is basically a no-no.

Luna has long known that Knight, with his outgoing personality, will outgrow her and move on soon.  She is trying to come to terms with it and be grateful she has had him her whole life as such a good friend.  Really loving someone and knowing you have to let them go is painful.

This book just did it to me.  I laughed, I cried, & I hurt for the characters too.  This story has a little of everything.  This series is so strong and exciting with so many surprises!  Always a go to author, this book is just another example of why I pick this author up each and every time.  What an enormously epic read.  I give this a 5/5 Kitty's Paws UP!