From the Back Cover of the Book:Ember Matthews has a gift.....
Sixteen-year-old Ember Matthews is tired of being the person everyone else wants her to be. Although she is nervous about moving to a small town and leaving behind the comforts of her old life, Ember welcomes the opportunity to escape the mistakes and pain of her past. Ember truly wants to change, but when faced with temptation and peer pressure from some new friends, she finds herself slipping into the same old patterns.
As she reconnects with God, Ember begins to realize that she is no ordinary teenager. She sees things that no one else sees, and knows things she has no business knowing. Will Ember learn to use her God-given gift, or will the burden of her calling be too much for her to carry?
My Review:
When I first started reading this book, I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. For a while I thought, great, just another teenage drama book... just what the world needs. And then, it opened up into a whole other realm of spiritual understanding. Ember has a gift that she neither understands nor is sure she believes in... but she knows there is more to life than what she's living. Every night she has a nightmare and wakes up crying and trembling. Every day she goes through life just looking for what's more and what can fill the aching hole and need in her life. When she moves to this small town, she decides that she will be different and she will be more... but how and more what? She meets a few people in town and she feels like she is going back to the same old Ember that she was in the last town, until she is invited to a different church. She is warned not to go to this church because they are weird, but the draw is too great and she goes anyhow. That's where she meets God again. During this meeting she speaks in a heavenly language and she can really feel God. Thinking that this would be the change she's been wanting, looking for she heads into life with a new attitude and outlook. Then it happens. God uses her gift to speak into someone's life and instead of the warm reception and welcome, the recipient is angry and threatening.
Wow and wow. I have never seen a young adult book that approached the Spiritual Gifts and I am so glad to see it. While I definitely believe in the Spiritual Gifts, I really don't have much knowledge about them because the modern church chooses to ignore them (or at least the denomination I am in doesn't put much emphasis on them; they are more cessationist in their beliefs regarding miracles). I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one (yes, I have emailed the author about when the next one will be available, but I can't tell you the answer!). While the book is about spiritual things, I still found it enjoyable, not overwhelming or bogged down with the spiritual or "Christian-ese."
I would recommend this book for Teens, young adults, and adults. It is a fairly quick read (I read it in about a day around my regular routine).
For More Information: http://www.aseriesofgifts.com/
To Purchase:
Amazon.com
Barnes and Noble
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