As part of the Choosing Charity tour, I re-read the entire Faith, Hope, and Charity series so I could post reviews for all three books. Here is my take on Finding Faith (Book #1) (stay tuned for reviews of Having Hope and Choosing Charity).
About the Book
Title:
Finding FaithAuthor: Terri Ferran
Release Date: January 2007
Publisher: Cedar Fort (Facebook | Twitter)
Genre: YA/LDS Inspirational Fiction
Series: Faith, Hope, and Charity trilogy (Book #1)
Other Books in the Series: Having Hope (Book #2), Choosing Charity (Book #3)
Kit Matthews tries to avoid thinking about God - and her unknown birth mother - altogether. She loves her family and is content with her life in California. That is, until her parents decide to move to Utah, the land of Mormons. New surroundings and culture shock do nothing to help Kit's social life. It is only with the help of Janet, a new friend, that Kit begins to adjust to life in Utah, as well as to the Mormon culture. Janet's older brother, Adam, is more than happy to befriend Kit, but when their feelings begin to go beyond friendship, Kit is torn. Does she really want to devote her heart to a boy who is going to leave her for two years to serve a mission for his faith? Can she support him when she doesn't even believe in his religion? As Kit looks deeper, she realizes that it isn't Adam's faith she needs to come to terms with - it's her own.
Review
This was actually the second time I had read Finding Faith and I liked it even better this time!
My favorite part of this book is its inspirational theme. I thought Kit's conversion story was extremely well written and realistically portrayed. I find that too many LDS books use "sudden" conversions as the easy way to explain someone's faith. But this seems completely unrealistic to me. I believe that most converts, like Kit, have to struggle and work to grow and develop a testimony and that it doesn't necessarily blossom overnight. I loved seeing how Kit's relationship with God gradually changed over the course of the book and how exciting is was when she finally "found her faith". I think this story would be appealing and beneficial to anyone who is struggling with their own faith.
I also just really love Kit's personality! I like how sarcastic and sassy she is and how she doesn't put up with anyone telling her what to do. She is also extremely stubborn and funny, but in a good way. Terri (the author) thinks Kit may be too whiny in parts but I actually appreciate that I'm not the only one who whines!
In addition, the other characters were each unique and likable in their own way. I adored Janet and hope that everyone has that good of a best friend sometime in their life. I found Claire naively sweet in spite of her hard life. I liked Adam's brother who teased Kit to her limits. And of course I can definitely see what attracted Kit to Adam. He is confident and fun and completely loyal to her without being judgmental.
Finding Faith will make you root for Kit, laugh and cry with her, and definitely keep you wanting more!
Giveaway
Want to win a copy of this trilogy? As part of the tour, Terri is generously offering a grand prize giveaway of Finding Faith,Having Hope, and Choosing Charity. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post or any of the other stops on the tour. (Check out the tour page for the full tour schedule.) The more stops you comment on, the more entries you have into the contest!
About the Author
Terri Ferran grew up in a small Colorado town that offered little in the way of entertainment. She escaped through reading (and later on a Continental Trailways bus), and although the town didn't have a library, she eagerly anticipated the coming of the Bookmobile and would check out stacks of books at a time.
She moved to Utah as a high school senior where she joined the LDS Church and met her husband, Tod. She dreamed of being a writer but took the safe route of becoming a CPA. She finally got brave enough to quit working in the world of numbers to pursue her dream of writing and also to spend more time with her children. Her first book, Finding Faith was published in 2007 and she is excited to be living her dream of writing in real life.
Terri still loves to read, but she can usually be found writing, doing laundry, dishes, running errands, napping, eating chocolate, or exercising (not necessarily in that order).
Website
Purchase the Book
Sounds like an interesting book - glad to see that even the characters aren't perfect, that they can whine and have problems.
ReplyDeleteI also appreciate LDS and other inspirational books that feel more realistic and portray people and situations as we might encounter them in real life. I'm looking forward to reading this series!
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