Faith Wish

Publishers Weekly

Bennett (I Can Hear the Mourning Dove; Blue Star Rapture) once again shows insight into the teen psyche as he traces the downward spiral of a troubled adolescent. Anne-Marie, a cheerleader in danger of failing her senior year of high school, is swept off her feet by a charismatic evangelist. Almost as soon as Anne-Marie hears the passionate words of Brother Jackson, she is inspired to become a more religious person. The lines between spiritual elation and physical lust become blurred for the heroine, however, and he seduces her the first time they are alone together. Around the same time, Anne-Marie learns that her poor grades will prevent her from graduating with her class, she also discovers that she is pregnant with Brother Jackson's child. Rather than facing her problems head-on, Anne-Marie allows Jackson to drive her to Camp Shaddai, an isolated Christian retreat where Anne-Marie's desperate search to find God-and herself-soon turns deadly. Peppered with dark ironies, this tale raises provocative questions about religious conviction and religious cults, blind faith and obsessive infatuation. Readers may find themselves replaying scenes in their mind, trying to discern whether tragedies could have been prevented. Although many may grow frustrated with Anne-Marie's na vet , most teens will be able to empathize with her deep-rooted need for unconditional love and acceptance. Ages 12-up. (June) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

VOYA

When Anne-Marie Morgan attends tabernacle, hosted by the charismatic Brother Jackson, she is born again. She studies her Bible instead of her schoolbooks, which worries her parents because Anne-Marie has attention deficit disorder and she is already struggling to keep up with her schoolwork. When Anne-Marie seeks counsel from Brother Jackson, they have sex. Trouble follows as Anne-Marie realizes she is pregnant with Brother Jackson's child, and her older, brainy sister, Eleanor, takes her to a Planned Parenthood Clinic for counseling. Instead of telling her parents she is pregnant, Anne-Marie decides to run away with Brother Jackson, who has other plans. He delivers Anne-Marie to Sister Abigail at Camp Shaddai, a cult camp filled with confused young women. After several counseling sessions with Sister Abigail, Anne-Marie is no longer certain she even had sex with Brother Jackson. When Eleanor visits a very mixed-up Anne-Marie, she promises to wait one more week before informing their parents of Anne-Marie's whereabouts, and Anne-Marie patiently awaits Brother Jackson's return. Bennett creates a fast-paced, engrossing story of a confused young woman who believes she has found faith and her future in a religious cult. Although Anne-Marie is not a total innocent, her naïveté and her need to believe in something become her downfall. The bare midriff and the belly button ring on the book's cover will attract both male and female readers. An absolutely riveting read with an unpredictable ending, this book is highly recommended. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to12). 2003, Holiday House, 247p,
— Carolyn Carpan

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-Anne-Marie is a beautiful, privileged, sexually experienced 17-year-old suburban Chicago cheerleader whose chance encounter with a charismatic traveling evangelist leads first to her sincere if naive religious conversion and later to statutory rape. The underachieving senior reluctantly signs an academic/behavioral contract to attend summer school and, at about the same time, discovers she is pregnant. Despite some unconvincing characterization and myriad subplots that go nowhere, the story steams ahead as Anne-Marie "borrows" her family's BMW to track down Brother Jackson in Indiana and he ensconces her in a girls' camp in southern Illinois. One wonders if all the girls are there because of sexual encounters with Brother Jackson, but that's never made clear. Similarly open-ended is the nature of his relationship with the beautiful camp director, Sister Abigail, who "counsels" the protagonist who, feeling she's following the Lord's will and at peace with herself, accidentally (and too conveniently) falls to her death. Irony abounds as the cultish nature of this "River of Life Fellowship" is raised. The book clearly communicates that religion can serve as a haven for evildoers and that vulnerable people can be harmed by religious people who take advantage. Brother Jackson, who is irresistible despite his immoral behavior, is never held accountable. Weak compared to Sheri Reynolds's superb and literary The Rapture of Canaan (Berkley, 1997), the book may hook some teen readers because of its accessible, messy, soap-opera-like plot; others are likely to be annoyed by its inconsistent plotting and loose ends.-Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Junior High School, Iowa City, IA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.