Jeri Smith-Ready

After his older brother is killed, David turns to anger and his parents to religion, but just as David's life is beginning to make sense again his parents press him and his sister to join them in cutting worldly ties to prepare for the Rush, when the faithful will be whisked off to heaven.

This Side of Salvation

Dorian Avers

** spoiler alert **
            I liked this book. I feel like I have mostly outgrown YA, but I still have quite a few books on my shelf that I want to get through that are YA. Normally I find YA romance pretty cringey and forced, but I actually enjoyed the relationship between Bailey and David. There was a decent amount of respect and no unnecessary or forced miscommunications. It did bother me that pretty much everyone described had blue eyes and light colored hair. I thought it was a bit anticlimactic, but I guess that makes it more realistic. I liked the flashbacks combined with the present. David was a well-done character. The parents used selfishness as a coping mechanism, and I thought the dad's turnaround was a bit too easy. I've just decided that I would read a sequel to this book if there was one, even though it was pretty well wrapped up. I did appreciate the Bible bits and showing that people can use the text as a tool for ignorance and manipulation, but also for goodness.

This Side of Salvation

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