Ann Lee Miller does it again!!! 5 stars for Avra's God!! Avra's God is such an uplifting, inspiring story about college aged students who love and serve God. I love everything about this book! It has devotion, romance, turmoil, skepticism, and happy endings! I love how descriptive Ann Lee Miller is with her writing when describing scenes. I feel like I am right there with the characters sucked into their world and emotions. I fell into every emotional scene in this book because of descriptions like this one...
"Kallie tilted her head toward him, looking at him for the first time since the song ended. He took a deep breath and leaned toward her. Kallie’s eyes widened. His fingers tightened on hers. Her lips were soft, motionless under his. He pulled away and grinned, tasting triumph and strawberry. Behind her the ducks splashed through a clumsy takeoff"
Avra is the constant, the rock, the level headed in her group of friends. At least that is how they see her. In reality Avra second guesses every decision she makes and is constantly seeking reassurance from God. I love how strong Avra is even when she wants to so badly fall prey to life's curve balls that are thrown her way. Then there is Cisco... Oh Cisco... Heads turn everywhere he goes. He is charismatic, funny, good looking, athletic.. And did I mention he is in a band. A drummer at that!! That is another thing I love about this story. It has a rock band with "good boys." Of course the good boys aren't always good... They have their own demons they are working through. Cisco is no exception. He is the personification of life of the party. Outsiders see him as always playing around, laughing, and seems to excudes confidence... But inside he is a insecure boy who doesn't think he is good enough for anyone. All of these issues stem from his home life and his parents divorce.
"No, Avra was class—and she didn’t have a clue. What would it be like to kiss class like that? It had to be different from the girls he usually made out with. He wasn’t stupid. He went after those girls because they dished a whole lot more than kisses."
A love story about college kids and rock band mates wouldn't be the same without best friends. Lead singer and preacher's kid Jesse is the true skeptic if the group. He feels like he cannot enjoy his life, play rock and roll, and live the rock god lifestyle if God is in charge of his destiny. His dad has high hopes of him taking after his old man and leading the church one day. Jesse, however has different plans that take him down a different road than his dad planned. Then along comes Kallie. Kallie is every boys' dream but is cold as ice on the inside. So much so she is known as the ice queen and a song is written about her iciness. Behind every bitter female is a story, and Kallie has one of her own. Jesse and Kallie have a love/hate relationship for most part of the book. Will they end up as friends, enemies, or lovers??? That was the question I pondered majority of the story!
Life happens, twists and turns pull the young lovers apart and tough decisions must be made. Avra's God has it all!! The characters go from being devoted to each other regardless of what type of relationship they have, being devoted to God, questioning everything from each other to their faith, and a little in between! Readers will fall in love with these characters and will find themselves connecting to one or more of them from time to time in the book. Ann Lee Miller did a spectacular job of capturing that questioning nature that young adults have and touched right down to my heart!
“Like your God would care about someone like me. He’d whoop my tail like my old man did.”
I love how the author writes a book centered around faith without making it sound higher than thou or preachy. What a way to reach out to a large audience of believers and possibly non-believers! Great job Ann Lee Miller!! Keep these inspiring stories coming ... PLEASE!!!
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