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A review by crystal_reading
Conviction by Kelly Loy Gilbert
This is a book that has layers on top of layers. Gilbert definitely made me want to keep reading to find the answers to my questions. There is an intensity throughout that made this a page turner.
I appreciated that the book delved into religion since there aren't that many young adult books doing that outside of the Christian publishing houses. The characters showed a variety of beliefs even within Braden's own church.
Some of the beliefs and statements expressed by a few characters were hateful towards people who were perceived as different, for example, Latinos or homosexuals. That was hard to read, but unfortunately seemed all too realistic. It was balanced a little, but still left me with a slightly icky taste in my mouth.
It's hard to give this a rating. I liked the book in that it kept my attention and made me think. I also found the family dynamics to be very interesting, but some of the characters and situations were very frustrating to read. It was an uncomfortable book. I'm going to leave off the stars at least for now.
As a side note, I was a bit confused by the main character being a pitcher familiar with the pressure of being on the mound when he was in first grade and only six years old. I don't know of little leagues or teams that allow or encourage that so young, but they may exist. Perhaps this was a sign of how much his father was pushing him, but as the mother of a former little league player, it popped me out of the story as I wondered how that was possible.
I appreciated that the book delved into religion since there aren't that many young adult books doing that outside of the Christian publishing houses. The characters showed a variety of beliefs even within Braden's own church.
Some of the beliefs and statements expressed by a few characters were hateful towards people who were perceived as different, for example, Latinos or homosexuals. That was hard to read, but unfortunately seemed all too realistic. It was balanced a little, but still left me with a slightly icky taste in my mouth.
It's hard to give this a rating. I liked the book in that it kept my attention and made me think. I also found the family dynamics to be very interesting, but some of the characters and situations were very frustrating to read. It was an uncomfortable book. I'm going to leave off the stars at least for now.
As a side note, I was a bit confused by the main character being a pitcher familiar with the pressure of being on the mound when he was in first grade and only six years old. I don't know of little leagues or teams that allow or encourage that so young, but they may exist. Perhaps this was a sign of how much his father was pushing him, but as the mother of a former little league player, it popped me out of the story as I wondered how that was possible.