This Side of Salvation

February 17, 2014
Grief at the death of oldest son John Cooper drives a wedge between his remaining family members. His parents find solace in a fringe Christian movement, which 17-year old Mara rejects, while 16-year-old narrator David tries to bridge all fissures. On the night that cult leader Sophia declares the Rush (Rapture) will occur, David and Mara return from a forbidden after-prom party to find their parents gone; the clothes left on their bed give the appearance that they vanished. Chapters alternate between “Now,” the time after the parents’ disappearance, and preceding years, with David recounting events progressively closer to the present. Suspense builds in both time frames: the circumstances of John’s death remain ambiguous until the end, while the mystery involving the Cooper parents unfolds as David, Mara, and close friends unravel clues. A homeschooled, competitive baseball player, David wrestles with his parents’ rigid and bizarre biblical interpretations, which ironically prods his own spiritual journey in a different direction. Smith-Ready (the Shade trilogy) combines a thought-provoking exploration of faith with high-stakes family drama to create a page-turner with real heft. Ages 14–up. Agent: Ginger Clark, Curtis Brown.

February 15, 2014
Religion requires sacrifice--but for David, the prophecy of the Rush end-of-time event has particularly bad timing: baseball season and prom night, when things are sure to heat up with girlfriend Bailey. Introspective and angry, David carries a heavier burden than most: His older brother died in Afghanistan, and his strongly religious parents joyfully anticipate leaving this world for the next, where the family can again be whole. They turn first to a new church where David feels welcome, then commit to the words of prostitute-turned-preacher Sophia Visser and her end-times prophecy--but David and older sister Mara have plenty of reasons to want to stay in this world. In wonderful irony, when the appointed Rush hour arrives, David and Bailey are finally getting physical (responsibly, both having purchased condoms), while David's parents mysteriously disappear without a trace at the foretold time. Weaving the present and the recent past, Smith-Ready builds tension and mystery as the family's tragic past and David's internal struggles emerge bit by tantalizing bit. Agnostic Mara, scientifically oriented Bailey and gay best friend Kane all provide support and opportunity for thoughtful exploration of religious chasms that have baffled many adults; questions of faith, family and responsibility are juxtaposed with a fast-paced and entertaining "what if" tale with--like life--no guarantee of a happy ending. Reason, love and smart peers succeed in a captivating story of family heartbreak and religious intrigue. (Fiction. 14-18)

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May 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-An honest portrayal of a family dashed apart by grief and in much need of salvation. David's family is still reeling from his military brother's death three years ago, and all but older sister Mara have embraced God as a way to cope. A former alcoholic, David's dad has abandoned his addiction to the bottle for an all-consuming and unhealthy relationship with religion, talking only through Bible verses and aligning himself with a fundamentalist preacher that promises the Rapture (or Rush) will occur in just a few months. All David wants is to get a baseball college scholarship and possibly lose his virginity to new girl Bailey. Told in alternating Then (leading up the Rush) and Now (after the Rush) chapters, the narrative frankly depicts a teen struggling with finding a balance between religion and his own desires. After a slow start, the momentum quickens as readers learn the mystery behind John's tragic death and the fate of the disappeared parents. Smith-Ready respectfully gives voice to those who question their beliefs, while providing teens a fascinating look into Doomsday cults. The secondary characters are not as well-developed as the protagonist, who finds fault with his church's rejection of his gay best friend and continuously prays to God for guidance. The ending might be too pat for some but will ring true for those rooting for this family's redemption. Give to fans of Melissa C. Walker's Small Town Sinners (Bloomsbury, 2011) or Lara Zielin's Donut Days (Putnam, 2009).-Shelley Diaz, School Library Journal

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2014
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* David, 16, and his sister, Mara, mourned plenty over the military death of their older brother. Their parents, however, shifted their religiousness to a higher gear, with Dad speaking entirely in Bibleish (biblical quotes) and both parents becoming disciples of a charismatic preacher who predicts the Raptureor the Rush, as she calls itwill occur on May 11 at 3 a.m. For this smart, well-rounded, and unpredictable tale, Smith-Ready juggles two time lines. The first begins on the morning of the Rush, when David and Mara return late from a party to find that their parents have vanished right on schedule. Assuming that the Rush is a ridiculous notion, has something terrible, such as a dual-suicide, occurred? The second time line brings us up to speed on the past nine years, a slow-motion train wreck during which the siblings are gradually asked to abandon all earthly pursuits. This is a deceptively easy read in the Dana Reinhardt vein, but Smith-Ready intersects both time periods with aplomb, bringing to light issues of belief versus free will, spirit versus body, and family versus selfwhile never being heavy-handed. It ends up being quite a mystery and a believable one at that. An eye-opening look at the limits, uses, and misuses of faith.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)