God Can Work It Out: The Faith Thomas Series
by Stephanie Perry Moore
Published by Harvest House Publishers
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Reviewed by Lisa Frisbie
Faith Thomas is a fictional eighth-grader whose life forms the basis for this series. Her father is a Christian musician, but Faith is struggling to decide her own value system.
While her parents argue and disagree, Faith attempts to be the peacemaker in the home, while also juggling priorities like excelling as a cheerleader and finding authentic friendships amid the superficial and insincere world of adolescents.
Author Stephanie Perry Moore demonstrates a great understanding of how a teen feels and acts, making it easy for the reader to identify with Faith amid these difficulties.
The reader can explore her own questions about religion and spirituality and realize her own discoveries about meaningful friendships.
Increasingly popular, the novelzine format includes great visuals (including bio info on the teen model who plays the role of Faith) monthly calendars, quotations, Bible verses, student blogs, and prayers. This mix of ingredients helps young readers stay interested, or move easily from topic to topic amid the diversity of content.
The target audience--teen and preteen girls--will easily relate to Faith and her school, family, and personal life. Along the way, the pathway to peace with God is given a clear and simple explanation. Despite trials and problems, Faith does discover the reality of God by the end of the novelzine: this outcome seems natural and unforced.
I found a few minor typos here and there (Valentine's Day is listed as Feb. 9th on one calendar, page 23), but overall this novelzine reads well for its target audience. A final page lists "Cool Books 2 Read," and I found myself wanting to read them all!
Armchair Interviews says: Good for your young adult girl readers.