Title: The Heart Reader of Franklin High
Author: Terri Blackstock
Primary Audience/age group: Young Adult
Genre: Young Adult/Christian Fiction
# Of pages: 144
Year of Release: 2002
Part of a Series? No
Rating: 5 – Highly Recommended

Description: When Jake Sheffield, a typical Christian teenager, awakens to discover that he can hear the deepest spiritual needs of those around him, the reality of the deep needs of the world hits him. And the lives he touches, through the help of the Holy Spirit, will never be the same. As his friends witness the power of sharing Christ with others, they too begin to “hear” like Jake.

 

Review: This book is interesting, powerful, and extremely relevant. The storyline has a wonderful, supernatural element to it that takes the reader into the troubled minds of today’s teens and shows that God is the hope that every Christian has to offer. Written to motivate teens to evangelism, this book will impact any person of any age.

Positive: Jake really wakes up to the needs of those around him and becomes much less self-centered. He fights his gift at first, but with the help of his youth minister, he soon becomes a true missionary everywhere he goes. When his ability to hear the deepest needs of the hearts of those around him disappears, Jake is tempted to return to his life of mediocrity, but after speaking to those whose lives were changed because of him, Jake continues to be a witness to those around him.

Violence: One of the students that Jake witnesses to is planning an attack on the school, but no violence ensues.

Language: None

Sexual Content: None

Other: Jake comes into contact with many people with dark secrets and troubling problems. He talks to a kid in re-hab for drug addiction, a pregnant teen considering abortion, and a girl contemplating suicide, just to name a few.

Rating: 5 for being a relevant, well-written page-turner

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to teens 15 and older, and all ages of adults. If you’re the parent of a mature teen or pre-teen, just be aware that the book addresses the more serious issues facing today’s youth.