Friday Fiction Fix: "Discovered"

The Short: 

Discovered

The Messengers: Book 1

By: Lisa M. Clark

3/5 Stars

What: In the future, Christian groups smuggle illegal copies of the Bible to keep the Word alive.

Recommended to those who like: Christian, Dystopian, Middle Grade

The Long:

Anyone writing in the futuristic Christian dystopian sub-genre has a tough battle. There are a lot of good books out there (and many mediocre ones) that fall into this sub-category (sub-sub-genre?).

Simon is a high-schooler with a secret that he’s mostly forgotten. In a world of controlled thoughts and information, can he discover the truth that lies in his own past—as well as the truth that began ages before he was born?

Discovered had many aspects that I enjoyed. As someone who enjoys a more traditional style of worship, I appreciated the liturgy and hymns used in this book. You’d be hard pressed to find a novel with more gospel and Scripture in it.

That being said, sometimes that wonderful gospel message trounced over the characters and plot. Long passages of Scripture were beneficial to me spiritually, but they sidelined the story for several paragraphs. Furthermore, I just didn’t like the last quarter of the book or so. I wish I could rant more about it, but I don’t want to spoil the book for anyone who might be planning on reading it.

Part of my view is likely skewed by the fact that I am a young adult and this book is written for middle-grade readers. Younger readers may enjoy this book more than I did.

I still want to read the next book. I think the author might explain more about why the first book ended the way it did. The author has previously written more non-fiction stories, so I am hopeful that she will continue to grow as a novelist as she writes the next book. 

The Bottom Line: Discovered has a promising story world and the potential for greatness, but don’t go into this one unless you’re ready for a few sermons.