[amazon_image id="1599905272" link="true" target="_blank" size="large" ]Small Town Sinners[/amazon_image]
[amazon_link id="1599905272" target="_blank" ]Small Town Sinners[/amazon_link]
by Melissa Walker
Publication Date: July 19, 2011
Publisher: Bloomsbury
The latest selection for the Faith ‘n Fiction Roundtable is Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker. In the story we meet 16 year old Lacey Ann Byer, a lifelong good girl and member of the House of Enlightenment church where her father is the children’s pastor. Lacey is excited to get the chance to try out for the coveted role of Abortion Girl in this year’s production of her church’s Hell House, an event that draws thousands of people over Halloween weekend. Depicting various sins, such as gay marriage, abortion, domestic abuse, drunk driving, and suicide, the Hell House is used as a way to show people that the way they are living may lead them into Hell instead of into Jesus’ loving arms.
That is putting it mildly. But I digress. I’ll get into that more in a minute.
Then a strange boy appears in the small town of West River, where the book takes place. Ty immediately captures Lacey’s attention (and romantic interest!) and she soon learns that he used to live in West River, but moved away a long time ago. Back in town, with new opinions and beliefs about faith, Ty questions Lacey about her long-held beliefs and she begins to explore the faith that she has held so close.
I think it is vitally important for every person to accept their faith as their own and not just believe what they believe because that’s how they grew up. There is something that happens when you investigate and question your faith. Once you can come to your own conclusions about what you believe, it makes your belief and your faith that much stronger. You aren’t just reciting scripture or reciting lines you’ve grown up hearing your family speak. You speak it because you believe it and you accept it. I get the impression that Lacey fell into the latter category before Ty reappeared in her life. The daughter of a pastor, she just believed because that’s what you did in her family. She recited things that didn’t quite ring true, but sounded more like cookie-cutter versions of what her father imparted to her over the years. But, when Ty starts questioning her, Lacey begins to doubt. She starts thinking of her faith in a new light, questioning things she hasn’t questioned before. Some of these scenes were my favorite parts of the book.
The Hell House aspect of the book, on the other hand, lit a fire in me that you cannot even imagine. The fact that people like me – fellow Christians who love Jesus – would try to scare people to Jesus just sickens and disgusts me. But I know that it happens every day, in many different ways. Yes, the idea of a Hell House is extreme and the fact that they even exist is mind-boggling to me. I had not even heard of a Hell House until I read this book! But, my question is – What happens after these people have gone through the Hell House and signed the pledge, committing their life to Jesus? This subject is not explored in the book, but it is something that interests me. I won’t get into that here, because I could go on and on about it! I’ll just say that, in my opinion, accepting Jesus is a bit more than signing your name to a piece of paper.
During the book, while Lacey is questioning her faith, she has a bit of a character shift. She changes into a dishonest, untrustworthy girl, which didn’t quite connect with the character she was introduced as. I’m not quite sure I can buy into that, considering the way the author presented her and her strong fundamentalist background with very strongly held beliefs. I don’t suddenly see her sneaking out of the house, lying to her parents, and withholding information from her parents, just because a new boy in town is beginning to stir some new ideas inside of her. Maybe. But, I don’t think so.
Overall, this is a decent YA Christian novel that will definitely make you think and ignite some strong emotions in you!
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I grew up in an area of the country where these hell houses were common. I found the book fascinating.
Good review! Laceys change in attitude didnt bug me much, I looked at it as she had to be this good girl as those were the only options.. her friends, her family… I think Ty was a breath of fresh air to her and as Lacey thinks, ‘he is someone who doesnt know here so she has a chance to reinvent herself.’
Hell house really urked me too
I completely understand your reaction to Hell Houses – mine was the same.
This sounds … different. I’m with you in that everyone should come to their faith in their own way. I’m also more of an adherent to the New Testament notions of love, salvation and forgiveness than the Old Testament fire and brimstone. I will keep my eye out for this one.
Such a great review, I’ve got this book on my TRB list and was curious as to how it handled faith! Just curious how does one participate in this Faith ‘n Fiction Roundtable?