A Treasury of Miracles for Teens

May 1, 2003
Guardian angels do exist and God still performs miracles, according to Christian novelist Kingsbury (One Tuesday Morning; A Time to Dance; etc.). In this simple yet engaging compilation, she retells some of the incredible stories she's heard from teenagers over the years--from accounts of God saving a young soldier from certain death in Kuwait, to Him bringing home a lost kitten. The tales tell of moments when teens encountered kind, mysterious people who helped them through an ordeal, only to disappear without a trace moments later; or heard unidentified voices that led them to safety; or experienced life-saving"coincidences" after uttering urgent prayers. There's nothing but the word of the teens and, at times, their friends and family to back these stories up, but all share the common theme of hope. In each, a person in trouble cries out to God for help, and miraculously, God answers; the teens are left with a stronger belief than ever that there is indeed an almighty God watching over them and loving them. Miracles may seem out-of-date these days, but one teen said after being helped by what he called an angel,"God is still God, and his ways aren't so different now than they were back in Bible times." Christian parents and teens will find this an inspirational, if occasionally sentimental, volume.

May 15, 2003
Guardian angels do exist and God still performs miracles, according to Christian novelist Kingsbury (One Tuesday Morning; A Time to Dance; etc.). In this simple yet engaging compilation, she retells some of the incredible stories she's heard from teenagers over the years--from accounts of God saving a young soldier from certain death in Kuwait, to Him bringing home a lost kitten. The tales tell of moments when teens encountered kind, mysterious people who helped them through an ordeal, only to disappear without a trace moments later; or heard unidentified voices that led them to safety; or experienced life-saving"coincidences" after uttering urgent prayers. There's nothing but the word of the teens and, at times, their friends and family to back these stories up, but all share the common theme of hope. In each, a person in trouble cries out to God for help, and miraculously, God answers; the teens are left with a stronger belief than ever that there is indeed an almighty God watching over them and loving them. Miracles may seem out-of-date these days, but one teen said after being helped by what he called an angel,"God is still God, and his ways aren't so different now than they were back in Bible times." Christian parents and teens will find this an inspirational, if occasionally sentimental, volume.

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2003
Gr. 7-12. From an author who has produced several similar treasuries, this features stories that revolve around teens. There's the girl who is told by an angelic hospital janitor that her sick brother will survive; the drug-addled boy who sees the face of Jesus; the daughter who so misses her dead father that she can barely function--until she sees him again. Kingsbury has obviously rewritten the selections because they all sound the same and follow a similar pattern: a tragedy befalls a teen who calls out to God for help, and the situation, often through the appearance of a heavenly being, is remade. Though this is heavy handed and will leave skeptical teens wondering about unanswered prayer, many readers will respond to the stories and their message. A few blank pages at the end offer space for readers to recount their own miracles, but it's doubtful many will take advantage of this in a library book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)