My Review of RUSH by Jonathan Friesen

RUSH

By Jonathan Friesen

RUSH is the latest young adult novel of my friend Jonathan Friesen. I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy to read. His first novel “Jerk, California”, a road trip/coming of age story of a teen who just happens to have Tourette Syndrome won the American Library Association Schneider Family Award.

“He could burn. She could die.
Anything for the rush.”

These words from the cover of Rush are a fairly accurate ten word description of the RUSH.

18-year-old Jake King is the kind of teen who gives parents sleepless nights and frantic days. Never one to sit still for a minute, Jake’s idea of a perfect afternoon begins with blowing off school to play “Spiderman” by rock climbing up a sheer walled canyon in a thunderstorm. Along the way, Jake rescues an 8 year-old stuck half-way up the canyon wall. Then instead of a bedtime story, Jake scales the local water tower for a late night dangle.

AD/HD, E/BD are just a few of the initials used to describe adrenalin junkie Jake’s constant quest for thrills.

But there is more to Jake than just action. His best friend Salome Lee knows a side of Jake that no one else is permitted to see. Ever since they were 8 years old and he climbed the rope ladder at school to rescue her locket, his tender friendship and loyalty have been calling to Salome’s heart, causing her to overlook most of Jake’s crazy stunts. Their relationship is complicated further by Jake’s fear that if he lets Salome get too close he’ll only break her heart.

Just when it seems Jake has worn out his welcome at school and his father’s patience at home an opportunity comes up that seems perfect for Jake’s unique skill set. The local crew of hotshot forest firefighters has an opening. These are the guys who rappel into wildfires, smoke jumpers who parachute into the belly of the beast to pull out its fiery teeth. Jake can just see himself in one of those leather jackets with “The Immortals” stitched on the back. Never mind that these guys have a habit of dying young.

But there is more to “The Immortals” than Jake knows. “According to legend, each year at least one member of the underground firefighters’ brotherhood must die.” But dead firemen never speak and the living “Immortals” are just as tight-lipped. All of which appeals to Jake even more.

RUSH is a fast paced story with a full serving of action and a side dish of mystery seasoned sweetly with romance. Jonathan’s writing will have you feeling the heat from the firefighting scenes and heart-pounding excitement as you follow Jake’s “live large or die” philosophy of life. This plot and these characters are well-written and interesting, getting into your head and keeping you turning pages long past bedtime.

So if you’re a reader who likes your action with a little lovin’ or your romance with a touch of danger, RUSH to Amazon and put in your pre-order because RUSH doesn’t release until June 10, 2010.


Check out the book trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2LkZzI7VJ8 or below!


The “Skinny” on RUSH (what I really loved)

• The nice/tough guy character of Jake. He’s a high-risk, adrenaline-loving troubled kid trying to do the right thing.
• Jake’s descriptions of how AD/HD affects his mind.
• Sweet & sassy Salome, an strong, independent young woman who’s not sitting around waiting for a “knight in shining armor.”
• The story setting in the California wildfire region, exploring the exploits of men who risk their lives fighting out of control fires.
• Mystery of “The Immortals,” firefighters’ secret club.
• It's a fast-paced page-turner.
• Really FEELING the rush as Jake risks everything, jumping bikes, fighting fires and scaling rock walls all for the thrill of it.
  

This is exactly the kind of book I was hoping to discover on my journey of "The Year of Reading Dangerously"

The Yada Yada Prayer Group by Neta Jackson

"'Yada Yada' to perceive, understand, acquire knowledge, know and discern." What a perfect name for a prayer group! When Jodi Baxter makes the decision to go with her boss to the Chicago Women's Conference, she has no idea the changes God has planned for her life.

"What do an ex-con, a former drug addict, a real estate broker, a foreign college student and a married mother of two have in common?" asks the back cover. But when this group of women, plus a few more, randomly winds up in the same prayer group, God starts connecting hearts in ways only He could. If you're a woman, you know what I'm talking about. One minute you're thinking you have nothing in common with that older woman sitting across the room and the next minute you realize you're sisters under the skin. It's this feeling that Neta Johnson does so well that makes "Yada, Yada" such a special book.

I wrote previously about a book in which I had trouble identifying with the main character. In this story, I was with Jodi from page one. As I became involved in the Yadas, I fell easily into longing for a closer walk with God, more vibrant praising, and especially a more powerful and positive prayer life. When you read the prayers of the Yada Yada sisters, you'll want to jump up, shout "Glory" and try a few of them yourself--at least I know did. I can honestly say this book has made a positive impact on my prayer life and I'm praising God for it. What could be better than being entertained and learning to walk closer to God at the same time? This is exactly the kind of book I was hoping to discover on my journey of "The Year of Reading Dangerously"

Full of good humor and compelling characters, along with some surprising twists and turns, this is one prayer meeting you don't want to miss.

P.S. Although I had hoped not to reread any author until the year was over, I confess I've already begun the second book (Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Down)--I just couldn't resist!

Quaker Summer

Haven't blogged about the "Year of Reading Gloriously" lately but I'm still on track and have finished a couple of books, am into a third. As the holidays approach I've been super busy letting everyone know about "Christmas Miracles" a new book written and compiled by Cecil Murphy and Marley Gibson and others (including my friend and boss Twila Belk). Please check it out at http://www.christmasmiracles2009.blogspot.com/. There is also a fan page if you're on Facebook.


A good friend recommended Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson to me last summer and I finished it in early October. From the back cover:

"Heather Curridge is coming unhinged. And people are starting to notice. What's wrong with a woman who has everything--a mansion on a lake, a loving son, a heart-surgeon husband, and soapstone countertops--yet still feels miserable inside? Yet when Heather spends the summer with two ancient Quaker sisters and a crusty nun in a downtown homeless shelter, she suddenly finds herself at a crossroads."

This pretty much sums it up. I had a really difficult time relating to Heather. In the book she says, "Every year I think there must be more to life, and every year, despite a new car or a trip to a new land, new milestones and triumphs in my son's life, or a redone deck, a pool, a spa, or entertainment system, I take stock and think once again, I was made for more than this. But I love my stuff." Hmmm. I am not a person who is preoccupied with buying things and I had some real problems even imagining Heather's affluent life-style.

But I could certainly identify with her struggle to do what God wanted her to do instead of going her own way. God calls Heather so far out of her comfort zone in such an unmistakable voice it's hard to ignore Yet she actually waffles until the night she has a kangaroo (!) hop across the road in front of her SUV. Talk about God getting your attention.

This book has memorable characters, true to (yuppie) life struggles and even some action sequences although it's best quality is the call it gives to Christians get out of our safe little small groups and insulated lives and begin to serve, as Jesus did, the "least of these".

There was one bit of "action" near the end that truly disappointed me. After spending the entire book encouraging women to go to the poorer parts of town, to the halfway houses and homeless shelters, an incident occurs that I would assume might be a major source of undoing all the good that had come before. I don't want to include a spoiler, but let me share an experience of my own to shed some light on why I wish the author "hadn't gone there".

For a number of years I played in a conservative church's all ladies handbell choir. On occasion we were asked to play for a men's minimum security prison. Each time it was a struggle for some of the husbands to allow their wives to go into what they perceived as a dangerous situation. In the end, we all went (and if I remember correctly a couple of husbands went the first time) and got our socks blessed off by the loving attitude and appreciation of the inmates. After the first time, you couldn't have stopped any of the ladies from going and no one felt the least bit threatened.

I know I'm somewhat unusual in that I'm that crazy Christian that sometimes picks up hitchhikers, gives homeless men caught stealing my "stuff" a sandwich and some clothes, and doesn't think twice about worrying I'll get hurt if I go serve at a homeless shelter. So I was saddened to see that issue come up in this book.

But basically this story will challenge you to step out where God is calling you and put aside whatever is keeping you from taking that step towards real and meaningful service to the kingdom. Give it a try.

"Sometimes you have to go a little bit crazy to find the life you were meant to live."

Paperback or hardback, I LOVE BOOKS!

Who doesn't love books?
They are our quiet, portable little friends just waiting for us to pick them up and spend some quality time with them. They will go with us anywhere--to the beach, to the airport, to doctor's waiting rooms, inside or out, our papery friends accompany us. Heck, we've even been know to take them into the bathroom!
My books don't need to be plugged in nor have their batteries changed. They never "crash" and if they're dropped, they simply go down with a thud unaccompanied by the groan, gasps and screams that accompany the "going down" of their cyber counterpoints. I once dropped a small paperback into a hot tub. A few seconds (on low) in the microwave and a short stint in the clothes dryer and I was able to find out "whodunit". Tell me the laptop you can do that with!
And how patient are our little library buddies! Don't have to push any pesky pause button for them. Just a little scrap of paper is all they require to pick up right where we abandoned them in their selfless efforts to entertain us. But please do refrain from bending down their corners.
I buy both paperback and hard back books for different reasons.
Paperbacks are so easily transported on trips. And after I've finished, one of my very favorite things to do is to just leave the book in a busy place, with a little note for whoever finds it to read it and pass it on. I love the serendipity of that and imagining who will find it and if they will enjoy reading it as much as I did. And I feel I'm saving a fellow traveler on the road of life from being stranded with nothing to read--a fate far worse than a flat tire, in my book.
If I really love a book (or if it's really cheap) I'll buy a hard back. Last hardback I bought was "Atonement" (hardback, $1.25) at a church book sale in Pasadena, CA. Inside the front cover was a guy's name from CO, followed by a woman's name (she was from L.A.) and phone number in a different handwriting. It was a small mystery in itself. As for "Atonement", it remained in CA with my niece, Monica, who hopefully found it as entrancing as I did.
Although we all know "You can judge a book by it's cover", my son being quite enamored with the art work on the original Harry Potter book covers was given my copies of the earlier versions. How absolutely wonderful is the book that is a beautiful on the outside as on the inside!
So, in the end, for me it all comes down to what is INSIDE the book, be it paperback, hard back, from Amazon, Borders or the Davenport public library. A good book is worthy no matter what the form in which you read. (Even--maybe, e-books--but you still can't drop those in the bathtub!)