DiscoverSocial & Family Issues

Testament

By

Worth reading 😎

Covering challenging themes this book is a great young adult book for tackling issues facing young people and some of the difficult issues.

This a great book for raising issues of faith, challenges of life as a teenager - such as sex, alcohol and drugs- and difficult issues of rape and teen pregnancy.


The characters are engaging and the plot moves at a good pace to keep you reading and engaged in the story. IlIt’s hard not to feel sorry for Dana and be angry at her father for his attitudes. The story challenges you to imagine the difficulties of living in a family of strong faith and both the barriers this creates for Dana. It also made me think about the struggles of her father living with his strong faith in a secular world, but I failed to feel empathy for him.


I struggled with how the rape is dealt with in this book. The almost light hearted synopsis sets a tone which detracts from the seriousness of the issue and turns it into a whodunnit. Throughout I felt angry that Dana wasn’t getting better treatment and only her friend Kayla seemed to care about her. The males in the book are almost entirely unlikeable characters with only Fitch being honourable - but even he is a pathetic teen that it’s hard to warm to.


As a young adult book it ends positively, which was both satisfying - knowing that Dana is ok - but also felt a little false and formulaic.


Despite that, I recommend this book though for teens to read as it does raise some challenging themes and deals with them sensitivity. It’s not a difficult read nor is it graphic or violent, enabling younger adults the chance to think about difficult themes.


Reviewed by

Having previously studied English at University I love books. I read regularly and a wide variety of literature and non fiction. I particularly love dystopian fantasies, adventure biographies and novels, especially those that immerse you in the landscape and historical fiction.

About the author

Brad Wiebe has been called a lot of things, and is proud to add author to soften the blow. When not writing or reading, he can be found atop a fire tower looking for wildfires, or at a lighthouse on the Pacific coast of Canada with his wife. Currently, he is writing his second novel, Savior. view profile

Published on January 20, 2020

80000 words

Worked with a Reedsy professional 🏆

Genre: Social & Family Issues

Reviewed by