Two John 3:16 Authors Are Readers' Favorite Award Winners - SUSAN MIURA and LORILYN ROBERTS

BOOK REVIEW

Religious Fiction for Young Adults

Reviewed by Gail Kamer for Readers' Favorite

“Inside my head, I see his broken parts. Inside my head, I feel his pain.” Those words hooked me immediately. Healer by Susan Miura shares the story of a young girl named Shilo coming to terms with the gift of healing. She’s different. Why? Is she a freak? 

Shilo struggles with her spiritual powers. When to use them? How to keep the world from using them and using her? Should she keep them secret? How to just be a normal person? Will her boyfriend understand? In addition, Shilo becomes involved when a drug gang’s transaction places loved ones in danger. A favorite aunt has cancer but Shilo can’t heal her. What good is the gift if she can’t heal someone she loves? In addition to that, Shilo can’t mend her own broken heart.

Healer by Susan Miura is one of the best Christian young adult books I have ever read. Ms. Miura keeps the reader guessing what will happen next and how in the world the main character will solve the problem. 

The pace is fast. The writing is active. The story line is amazing. She’s made connections with today’s young adult world. Healer is a wonderful story to restore your belief in God’s good in the world and would make a great book club read for young adults. The reader bonds with the characters and, of course, wants more. That’s good since this is volume I. Hurry, Ms. Miura and get volume II out. I’m ready to see what happens next.

To purchase from Amazon, click here

To learn more about Susan Miura visit her website at 

http://susanmiura.altervista.org/

☦☦☦☦☦☦☦☦☦☦☦☦☦☦☦

BOOK REVIEW

Religious Fiction for Young Adults



by 

Rabia Tanveer for Readers' Favorite

Seventh Dimension - The Prescience: A Young Adult Fantasy by Lorilyn Roberts is the fifth book in the Seventh Dimension series that has a very unique take on time travel. Daniel and Shale, a recently engaged (betrothed) couple, found a lost orphan girl in Jerusalem and try to save her from the devastated city. From there, they embark on God’s plan and return to the first century and search for Daniel’s father who has gone missing. Finding his father could be the first step in unraveling the mystery of a tragedy that is waiting to happen. 

However, it is proving to be more dangerous and difficult than both of them ever thought. There are far too many enemies and dangers awaiting them, and all they can do is fight them together. But can they? 

With religious themes mixed with coming of age, the novel is definitely very different and the author seems to be in her element here. I enjoyed the time travel, how the two main characters fought the odds together and came out victorious at the end. Although I have not read the previous novels in the series, I still enjoyed it and caught up with the story really quickly. The story was fast paced and entertaining. 

Right from the beginning, the story gripped my attention. The chemistry between Shale and Daniel was perfect; they respected each other with an intensity and worked together as a team. The element of time travel was spot on; the author ensured that the characters, the dialogues and even the environment were time appropriate. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about the novel! A really entertaining coming of age story.

To purchase from Amazon, click here

To learn more about Lorilyn Roberts, visit her website at 

http://LorilynRoberts.com

Book Review by Carol A. Brown of Seventh Dimension - The Prescience, Hang on for the Read

Prescience--Fifth in Seventh Dimension Series-Hang on for the read!

I have read and enjoyed each book in this series as they have been released and I have to say that this one is the best of the series! Roberts has hit her stride as an author. Each story builds on the one before. Although each can be read as a stand-alone, the reader could experience some confusion due to not having details from preceding stories. In this story, we get to know Daniel, who has played more of a supporting role in other books. It takes us ever closer to the end of time. It is clearly a Christian take on how history will end.

Daniel and Shale are in Jerusalem in their quest to find Daniel’s father who is somehow connected with the "portals" that make time travel possible. Bombs falling everywhere. They become guardians of an orphan girl. Daniel’s mother dies. While betrothed, Shale longs to be married but events keep happening that prevent even the planning of a wedding. Daniel comes to understand his calling—one of 144,000 witnesses who will die by martyrdom! Perhaps we will find in the next in the series how that works out for Shale? Fast-paced action—a 21st-century man chariot racing?—keeps the reader engaged from the first page.

Writing craft—Author, Roberts, has done her homework.

• The information of the culture (social and religious) at the time of Christ is very well researched, very thorough.
• Well edited. The reader is not distracted by technical errors.
• Excellent and intricate plotting. I can only imagine what the author’s office looked like during this process! No “slow” places in the story.
• Excellent weaving of multiple genres.
• Characters have grown and matured as individuals. Excellent development of the series.

I appreciated how Roberts has been able to extract a storyline from the plethora of details in the body of work on eschatology. The sheer volume overwhelms me.

Highly recommend this book. Although written for the YA audience, anyone who enjoys a fast-paced story with a bent for the supernatural, and just the right amount of romance, would enjoy this story regardless of age.

Amazon Book Review by Carol A. Round.

To purchase or learn more, visit bitly.com/LP_Pres