Amazon(there is a Kindle Countdown deal going on until the 17th! Get it on Kindle for only $0.99) Goodreads Book Depository Barnes and Noble
Goodreads Blurb:
"At fourteen, Claire Thomas leads the average life of a teenage girl, living in the shadow of her popular older brother, maneuvering her way through family, friendships, and first love. But her childhood best friend, Drew, is not your average teenage boy. In fact, he's downright unusual. Sometimes he disappears, almost before her eyes. He speaks in clichés, quotes and Bible verses, and is always writing in his worn leather notebook.
Drew seems to have the inside track to all things spiritual, but Claire lives in a family that does not go to church, with a mother who hates God. It seems Drew is trying to tell her something important, but she isn't sure what that is. After years of wondering why she is the only person to ever see or speak to him, thinking maybe he isn't real and it's all in her head, she is determined to discover The Truth About Drew."
Review:
Thank you to the author, Krista Noorman, for gifting me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Wow. I simply cannot put into words how much I loved this book. I'm a very open minded person when it comes to religious books even if it isn't my religion. I appreciate the fact that some people are able to put their trust completely in a greater being. So I really enjoyed watching Claire find her way to something she can put her trust in unconditionally because it's right for her.
Overall, this book was just so touching. If I'm ever feeling down, this will be the book I turn to. Not because the concept of God makes me feel warm and fuzzy, but because it's just a happy story of a girl finding her way with the help that was sent. While religion is a primary aspect of this book, I feel like there's also the simple theme of a young woman finding her way through adolescence and questions she's only now discovering.
The writing was so beautiful and I stayed up all night just to finish it. I couldn't put it down. The plot definitely helped that along as well. It was so relate-able to what I felt at that age and how entering high school affected me.
Now for Drew. When it's revealed near the end what he means to Claire and what the notebook signifies, I thought it was just perfect. You know when you have that contented feeling at the end of a book? I got that feeling at the end of this book and it was the perfect way to go to sleep.
The Final Verdict:
While this is a religious book, there are other themes that connect to everyone - even nonreligious people. A wonderful feel-good book executed with beautiful writing and style.
5 stars
Meet the Author
Krista Noorman is the author of the young adult novel The Truth About Drew and soon-to-be-releasedGoodbye, Magnolia. She lives in West Michigan with her husband, Jake, and their two children. After attending Cornerstone University, photography became her passion, and she ran her own wedding photography business for nearly a decade.
As a young girl, she scribbled away in her journals, but never imagined she would one day turn her love of writing into stories for others to enjoy.
She writes about life, family, faith, and whatever else comes to mind at bykrista.com .
As a young girl, she scribbled away in her journals, but never imagined she would one day turn her love of writing into stories for others to enjoy.
She writes about life, family, faith, and whatever else comes to mind at bykrista.com .
1. How would you describe The Truth About Drew in 5 words or less?
Oh boy, that's a tough one. There are so many different themes in the book that I could pull from, but I guess I would say the biggest one is finding faith in God, so I'll go with this ...
Faith comes through extraordinary circumstances.
2. What inspired you to become a writer?
I've always loved to write, but more scribbling away in my journals than writing novels. I had ideas, but never thought I could actually do it. My husband participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in 2007 and I was intrigued. Write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days? It sounded crazy and a little scary, but there was something in me that just wanted to prove I could do it. So when November 2008 rolled around, I sat down at my computer and started typing and by month's end, I had done it. It was such a fun experience and I was totally hooked on creating characters and letting them show me where they wanted to go.
3. What inspired The Truth About Drew specifically?
In the fall of 2009, my husband asked if I was going to do NaNoWriMo again and I told him "no". The first time around has gone wonderfully, but I didn't really think I had another story idea. I was wrong. One morning while driving my kids to school, I began to think about an idea I'd had several years before about a girl with an imaginary friend (don't worry, that is not a spoiler for the book) and I let my mind wander and take the idea a little further to what I thought could be a really great story with a twist, so I did NaNoWriMo again in 2009 and wrote what became "The Truth About Drew".
4. Where is your favorite place to write?
In my office at home, usually at night when it's quiet with instrumental movie scores playing on iTunes.
5. Handwriting or typing?
Typing! Always. On a good day, I can type over 100 wpm, so I'm much faster typing than handwriting.
6. When you were writing The Truth About Drew, did you plan out what the truth really was (the mystery behind Drew)?
Yes. I knew the truth and wrote with that in mind, trying not to give too much away too early, leaving little hints along the way, and saving the big reveal for late in the book.
7. What's your favorite part of writing in the Christian genre?
When I was writing this book, I really felt God's guidance in it. I felt like it was a story that both teens and adults could take something away from, a story of family and friends and this journey to faith that happens in such a different and unique way. Being able to share truths from God's word and the simplicity of accepting the gift of salvation was important to me and one of the main reasons I decided to go forward with the self-publishing process. I also think there are so many people who are looking for good clean reads these days, so I'm happy to add mine to the list of great clean books that are out there now.
8. Do you love to read as well as write?
I do enjoy reading, but wish I had more time for it. Honestly, I have only read a few books lately. Two were nonfiction and one was Christian historical fiction that a friend of mine wrote. My list of books to read keeps growing and growing, though. It's almost New Years Resolution time, right? I'm thinking "Read 2 books a month for pleasure" is doable.
9. What's your favorite food? Why?
My mouth just started watering at this question. Let's go to Olive Garden for chicken parmigiana and peach bellini tea. I love pasta. And their breadsticks. Yum!
Thank you for the lovely interview Krista!
Quotes:
"My greatest fear was that he would disappear and never come back."
Happy Friday the 13th by the way! Don't knock over any salt shakers! Or is it pepper shakers...? Anyway, I wish you the worst of luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment