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Novel Teen is all about clean teen fiction from a Christian worldview.
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TO DARKNESS FLED EPISODE 27
CLICK HERE to download To Darkness Fled-Episode 27
Sir Gavin and Sir Caleb pose as bounty hunters and take Achan into Ice Island as their prisoner in hopes of freeing their men from the Prodotez.
Dark Powers Collection by Bill Myers
Review by Jill Williamson
Zondervan has updated and re-released Bill Myers’ Forbidden Doors series in four, three-volume sets. The Dark Powers Collection is the first book in the set.
Book 1: The Society
Becka and her brother Scott move to a new town. Having grown up on the mission field, it’s their first time living in a regular USA place. Right away they stumble onto things that remind them of the witch doctors from South America, who worship demons. But when Scott meets up with members of The Society and their Ouija board, he needs to dig down deep into his faith to know how to face them.
Great story. I instantly liked Becka and Scott. They’re fun, realistic Christian teens, who know just enough about their faith to get themselves into trouble. I enjoyed watching their struggle as they volleyed between keeping their mouths shut to make friends and speaking up for their faith. This is a fun story and one that will keep you thinking long after.
Book 2: The Deceived
Maxwell Hunter, a hypnotist, comes to town and convinces Becka that she was a powerful person in a former life. Scott doesn’t like the guy at all, but their mother is quite taken with him, so much that she goes out on a date with the guy! Scott is furious, and tries to figure out how to get his mom and sister to see that there is something wrong about this guy. But can he convince them before it’s too late?
This story intrigued me. Just the idea how people can so easily convince themselves that something they know is wrong is okay. That even Christians will feed their pride rather than face the truth. It makes me wonder what in my life I might be feeding for my own pride. This was a scary one, so buckle your seat belts!
Book 3: The Spell
The Society has had it with Becka and her brother Scott, so they place a spell on Becka, tying to shut her up for good. Becka finds creepy messages and dead animals in her path. She knows The Society is messing with her, and she knows they have no real power, but she’s terrified of what they might do next! Scott, on the other hand, is completely distracted by a very pretty face.
This one might have been my favorite so far. I really like how it shows ways that Christians can be used and taken advantage of when they give into fear or temptation and forget who to trust. I think I read this one the fastest. These are GREAT books. All Christian teens must read! Can’t wait for the next volume!
Age Range: 12 and up
Genre: supernatural
Part of a Series: Books 1-3 of the Forbidden Doors series
Pages: 330
Publisher: Zondervan
Released: 2012
God’s Plan or Yours?
Once I’d officially given up my pursuit of being a fashion designer, I started thinking about what God wanted me to be when I “grew up.” I wanted to serve him in a big way. I wanted to change people, and I became convinced that I was supposed to do that by being a speaker. I had an interesting childhood, I made a ton of mistakes, and I wasn’t afraid to talk about it.
I started researching how people become speakers at teen events and schools, and I discovered that oftentimes people are invited to speak after someone has read an article they wrote in a magazine.
Well, how hard could that be, right? So I wrote some articles, submitted them, and discovered that writing articles was a lot harder than I thought. Each magazine had specific needs and formats. I had to craft a different idea for each one, and there was no guarantee that they’d even use it! But I kept at it, determined that I was doing something worthwhile and necessary.
My first published article in Brio & Beyond November 2006
Around that time a debate sprang up in our church about the Harry Potter books and whether they were “safe” for Christians to read. Now, despite what you feel about them, I was annoyed. I’ve always been an avid reader, and I knew there were far worse books out there for teens that most parents didn’t even know about. I got thinking, why couldn’t someone write books for teens from a Christian worldview?
Maybe I could.
I pushed aside my article writing and started a novel. Looking back, I did everything wrong. But I got hooked on it. It was so much fun. And I had no desire to go back to the hard work of writing articles.
Logo I made for my spy kid novel
I started to feel guilty. Hadn’t I decided to serve God in a big way? Hadn’t I dedicated my life to helping teens by sharing my story and what I learned? Writing my little spy kid novel was totally selfish! I was turning my back on something “holy” and doing something that was more fun. And God knew it!
I talked to my pastor about this and he set me straight. He reminded me that God can use anything he wants to reach people. And if I really loved writing this book, he thought I should keep going.
I got thinking about King David and Nathan and how Nathan wanted to point out that David was sinning with Bathsheba, but rather than tell the king he was doing something wrong, Nathan used a story to reach him. (2 Samuel 12) And it worked.
And Jesus told stories all the time to get people to think about deep things.
I decided to keep writing that book.
The thing is, planning is good. But God wants us to experience life, not schedule it. And sometimes we can’t know what he’ll put before us until he does it. And if we’re too caught up in our own agendas, we just might miss out on something pretty amazing. Something better than our own plans.
C.S. Lewis
CS Lewis said in Mere Christianity: “Your real, new self will not come as long as you are looking for it. It will come when you are looking for Him.”
I was trying to plan out who I was going to be. But when I stepped back and went looking for God’s will instead of what I thought he’d find pleasing, I found myself.
Serving God doesn’t have to be taking a vow of silence, becoming a pastor, or going to bible college. It might. But God doesn’t want to bully us into a life of service. He wants us to give him our hearts. To love him above everything else. He wants us to be who he created us to be. Not who someone else already is. And when we find ourselves, we’ll know how to serve him. And if it’s truly our calling, we will find joy in it.
Have you ever gotten so caught up with your To Do list or your own agenda that you forget to seek out your creator? Have you ever struggled with your dream being too much fun or the complete opposite? Leave a comment and tell me about it.
Pure Life, Pure Love by Elsa Kok Colopy
Review by Jill Williamson
There are, like, a thousand books on purity out there, and I’ve read a lot of them. What I felt was different about this book was that it got me thinking about purpose, which is one of my life passions. God has a purpose for each of us, whether we believe it or not. And he is asking us to seek him out and trust him.
Lots of people think that believing in God and living for him means that we have to follow a long list of rules. When I first started following God, that’s what I wanted, believe it or not. I wanted to the rules. I wanted to be sure that I would never mess up my life again. But that’s not how it works. We all mess up, whether we love God or not. And Elsa gets that. Man, do I wish I had read this book when I was a new Christian!
Elsa walks us through all the questions a teen girl might have. It’s not about setting impossible standards or being perfect, it’s about loving God and letting God love you. It’s about learning his plan for your life and embracing that. Can you imagine? God loves you and wants to give you a purpose while you’re here on this earth. How cool is that?
This book is filled with practical advice, true stories of girls who’ve struggled, and discussion questions to get you thinking about how to apply all this to your own life. Totally worth the read. I highly recommend this one.
Age Range: 12 and up
Genre: non fiction/teen life
Part of a Series: no
Pages: 208
Publisher: Zondervan
Released: 2012
TO DARKNESS FLED EPISODE 26
CLICK HERE to download To Darkness Fled-Episode 26
After arriving in Tsaftown, Achan and the knights make their plans to infiltrate Ice Island.
The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQuerry
Review by Jill Williamson
Now that Lena Mattacascar has turned eighteen, she decides to leave home in search of her father in the wild wilderness of Scree where the Peculiars live—outcasts for their strange inhuman characteristics. Lena has always feared she might be part Peculiar because of her long fingers and feet, and she conceals her deformity as best she can, always wearing gloves.
When traveling on the train, Lena meets Jimson Quiggley, a young librarian, and Thomas Saltre, a marshal. When Saltre learns who Lena’s father is, he asks her to spy on Jimson Quiggley and his boss Mr. Beasley and report whatever she learns back to him. In exchange, Saltre promises to help Lena find her father.
Mr. Beasley’s home is filled with strange inventions and noises in the night. The more she learns about Jimson and Mr. Beasley, the more she likes them. Lena’s confusion over who to trust leads her to a decision that changes everything.
This is a steampunk novel. I adore steampunk and wish there were more of them. Steampunk is merely a fantasy novel that takes place in a time period where steam power was used as modern technology. Such a storyworld enables interesting props and plot devices.
This is a fun book. Totally clean. Lena is shy and naive, self-conscious of how she looks, especially in regards to her hands and feet. Jimson is loyal to Mr. Beasley and enthralled with invention and progress. He doesn’t care much for Lena’s faith, which adds some interesting discussions here and there. And Mr. Beasley is the enigmatic inventor, who reminded me somewhat of Doc Brown in the Back to the Future movies.
I enjoyed the premise of what makes one human. The Peculiars with their strange deformities are said to be unable to go to heaven by missionaries in the story. The missionaries were written as firm legalists to their beliefs, though one changed her mind in the end. I’ll be interested to see where the author takes this subplot.
Lena’s search for her father gets derailed by the marshal’s quest, but it all comes around in the end. Her confusion about who to trust is likely a relatable experience for a young woman inexperienced with advances from a handsome man. The marshal is sneaky—I didn’t trust him. But I could see how Lena might. This is not a fast-paced book, but I was never bored and look forward to the second book in the series. This is a fun, thoughtful, clean read.
Age Range: 12 and up
Genre: steampunk/fantasy
Part of a Series: yes
Pages: 368
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Released: 2012
Homelanders 4-vol set by Andrew Klavan
Thomas Nelson has released Andrew Klavan’s Homelander series in one volume. Now you can get all four of Charlie West’s adventures in one.
The Homelanders includes these four books:
The Last Thing I Remember
The Long Way Home
The Truth of the Matter
The Final Hour
(Click on each title to read my book reviews.)
Great idea for a story. I loved the mystery of what was going on and the way Andrew Klavan told this tale, how he weaved it backwards and forwards with action and memories and mystery. It was very cleverly done. This is a GREAT series for boy readers. So if you love action and adventure novels, or if you’re looking for some books for a young man, look no further. This is the series. I highly recommend it.
Looking for some new bibles for your kids? NIV Boys Bible and the NIV Faithgirlz Bible
Looking for some new bibles for your kids? Check out these ones!
NIV Boys Bible
I’d been wanting to upgrade my son to an “older” bible, as he’s been getting too old VeggieTales one. 
This one is perfect! I love that he has the full Word, the same text that I have in my bible. He feels good about having this new bible, and the cover looks “guy.” He loves the “grossology” sections, which expand on something from a passage that is truly gross. And the “What’s the Big Deal” sections that appear every four pages give further thought into passages.
He knows that it really doesn’t matter what kind of bible he has, that reading God’s Word is all that truly matters, but I think this particular bible makes him smile and go looking to connect in his own 10-year-old way.
NIV Faithgirlz Bible
Cute cover. My daughter loves it. At eight, she’s a little young for the “Oh I get it” sidebars and “Dream Girl” devotionals, but she likes the “Is There a Little Wise Kid in You” ones and the sporadic quizzes. I like that there’s a brief intro page at the beginning of each book that explains in kid terms what the book is about and gives some highlights. I love that she has the same NIV version of the Word that I have, so we can each read from our own bibles and have the same text.
This is a bible she can grow up with and love until the cover wears off. And I think that someday she will read those longer sidebars and devotional passages and really enjoy them because they are deep and thoughtful.
Two thumbs up for both of these bibles. They give my kids the Word in a unique package that appeals to them.
TO DARKNESS FLED EPISODE 25
CLICK HERE to download To Darkness Fled-Episode 25
In this episode, Achan seeks out Lady Tara to ask for her hand, and Vrell tries to stop him before he makes a fool of himself.
Interview with Travis Thrasher
A few years ago I first saw the cover for Solitary by Travis Thrasher (click the title to see my review). It was simple and intrigued me. And when I read the book, it totally sucked me in! I kept thinking, “Christian teen horror? Who knew?”
But then the book made me mad. (I may have thrown it once.) And in the end, it left me so puzzled that I needed to read book two, which left me dying to read book three to the point that I actually pre-ordered the thing. And now I’m a Thrasher Head, counting the days until January.
“Hey, Travis… I don’t suppose you need any endorsements for Hurt?”
Yeah… I figured as much.
At least I got to talk with Travis a little in the meantime.
I’d like to say that this isn’t a series you want to start in the middle. If you haven’t read Solitary, go buy it right now. Or enter to win below. Travis has graciously offered to give all three books to one of my blog readers.
Sweet!
So enjoy the interview, enter to win, and if you don’t win, go buy Solitary! You will be entertained.
The contest is only to win the FIRST THREE BOOKS.
In regards to the picture above, look how fabulous Hurt looks there on the end with the creepy ol’ church on the cover. Oh, Hurt! How I long to pluck you off the shelf and read all of your pages.
Okay… Jill’s losing focus here.
An interview! Yes. That was the plan. (Why do I feel like Doctor Who today?)
Without further randomness, I give you Mr. Thrasher. *applause*
Travis, when you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I’ve wanted to be a writer since third grade, and that has been the one constant in my life.
When did you decide to try writing books?
I’ve always been reading and writing but I wrote my first novel in ninth grade. I still have it. It was written in pencil on notebook paper and it was called The Adventurer. It was pretty bad.
Was it hard work?
Writing is the easiest thing in the world to do. The hard part is writing something that is well written!
What was your biggest obstacle as you learned to become a writer?
Self doubt. I think that’s one of the biggest obstacles for any writer. Writing is such a personal and solitary craft. You’re left alone to your own habits and hangups. It’s easy to have insecurity about every part of the writing process. The key is plowing ahead even if or when you know the writing is awful or simply mediocre. I think I’m the most persistent writer out there. Not the most talented, but the most persistent.
What do you consider one of your biggest life adventures?
I live on a bloody battlefield. Except the blood is colored pink, and there’s lots of toys littering the field. As the father of three girls (a five year old and two 17-month-old twins), my wife and I are currently on an amazing adventure. Trying to do this while supporting all of us by “living the dream” (see question #1) can be tough. But doors continue to open to writing projects. I never know what adventure will be coming next!
Temptation is book three in the Solitary Tales. Here is the storyline:
It’s a fabulous book. But, again, if you haven’t read Solitary and Gravestone, read the series in order! Travis, in your Solitary books, Chris has to move to a strange town that’s far away from anything. What advice would you give teens that are forced to live in places they don’t want to live? How can they make the best of things?
Keeping a positive attitude is the best thing you can do. I know that sounds trite–I find it hard at times to keep positive myself. Life doesn’t always go the way we hope or expect. Moving around was hard for me–I went to four different high schools. At the same time, I wouldn’t change anything because it made me who I am now.
The older I get, the more I realize that every single day we have is a gift. When you’re a teenager, you think you’re going to live forever. You think that forty-years-old is over the hill. You sometimes can’t wait to be a grownup. Relish those times of being a teenager regardless of the circumstances.
Any real-life adventures planned for the near future? If not, what is one dream that you’ve yet to live?
I’m starting to look ahead to the future in terms of family plans. I’ve always looked ahead when it came to my writing, and I still do that. But now, with these three little ladies in our house, I’m looking through a different set of lenses.
What new fictional adventure are you working on now?
My next book is an eBook only release of a story called Teardrop that is part of seven other stories in the 7 Hours project released by Tyndale House Publishers. It comes out in May. Then in September, a novelization I worked on for the movie Home Run will be released. The movie is a tremendous story about a professional baseball player who is forced to go to rehab and ends up finding hope and redemption.
Thanks so much for the interview, Travis! I look forward to your new writing projects, and obviously, to Hurt. Here are some places to find Travis online:
Travis’ website: http://www.travisthrasher.com/
Travis’ blog: http://thejourneyiseverything.blogspot.com/
Travis’ Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Travis-Thrasher/13427461109?ref=ts
And to enter to win Solitary, Gravestone, and Temptation, leave a comment and/or “like” Travis’ Facebook Page. May the randomest entry win.
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About Me
My name is Jill.
I'm a believer, wife, mom, youth leader, fiction addict, podcaster, superhero, and writer of really cool, weird books for teens.
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