Worlds Collide

February 21, 2005
The daughter of bestselling Christian apologist and writer Lee Strobel (The Case for Christ
) pens an overly long, evangelistic story with likable Christian characters. The plot revolves around a real-time interview that celebrity biographer Jada Eastman conducts with Hollywood TV and movie star Jack Harrington (one of People
's "Top 25 Most Beautiful People") and his wife, Grace. First-person chapters switch back and forth as Jack and Grace (with occasional interjections by Jada), narrate the story of their pasts, their romance and the daunting illness that now threatens Jack's life. The chronicling of the couple's spiritual quests soon bogs down into lengthy descriptions of church services and Jack's clichéd descent into alcohol and sex as he desperately seeks to know who he really is. Feeling "stalked by God," Jack wrestles with the idea of Christianity in earnest for almost a dozen pages, while the "ordinary gal" Grace plays out every female reader's fantasy of having a glamorous Hollywood hunk single her out (Grace: "But you're surrounded by women every day who look like goddesses...." Jack: "I would never, never want another woman over you"). Hollywood glamour, evangelical conversions, mostly competent writing and spiritual introspection should make this novel appeal to CBA market readers looking for an entertaining read to give their non-Christian friends.

April 1, 2005
Celebrity couple Jack and Grace Harrington appear to have it all, but when biographer Jada Eastman goes behind the scenes of their marriage, she finds lives filled with personal demons and spiritual brokenness. Strobel lives in California.

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 15, 2005
Jada Eastman gets a contract to do a dual star biography of Jack Harrington, a Tom Selleck-like figure, and Grace Winslowe, the commoner who settled him down and gave his life meaning. But there's much more to it than that: Jack has had a pretty sleazy past; nor has Grace's life been without its rough spots. Meanwhile, Jada can't stay neutral: all the stuff about how Jesus has intervened in Jack and Grace's lives drives her nuts. It's a reasonably promising premise, but unfortunately, Grace is a bore. Jack isn't, but Strobel's account of his sins, while often affecting, is so moralistic that his redemption seems a foregone conclusion. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)