So is this spring break for you? Or does yours start later? Either way a good way to kick off the week is with out Hosted Author story review! Today, Zolia Lily reviews Are You Christian, by Krista. Enjoy!

Review by Zolia Lily

I chose to review this story never having read it before purely upon the recommendation of a friend, and I’m glad I did.

Christian, the protagonist of this story, finds himself attending school in small town North Carolina after his father is shot by a client and his family relocates. Everything is different from Baltimore, and Christian and his family have to adjust to life in Landfalls – or “hell” as Christian refers to the town on their way there. His kooky psychologist mother, lawyer father, and grumbling older sister all have to adjust, and when his mother decides that they should attempt to fit in, this means going to church. Christian could probably cope with this ok – but the preacher is one of his new friends’ fathers, and Jonathon and Christian have something in common. Despite Christian’s initial dislike towards Jonathon, it becomes apparent that he is gay too – but his parents are a striking contrast to the accepting and loving family that Christian goes home to – and a relationship between them seems the most impossible of things.

Christian himself is a strong, grounded individual, who, despite some initial nerves at starting over, is true to himself and refreshingly different from the angst ridden teenagers so often at the centre of coming out stories. The family dynamics are realistic and the characters interesting. Christian’s mother, especially, offsets the claustrophobia of the town by providing a contrast with the adult characters at the church and school and heightening the sense of isolation from their previous life in Baltimore.

Even Christian’s new friends step out from the mould and provide the reader with their own moments of amusement and frustration. There’s the girl who is sure Christian wants to date her as much as she wants to date him, the pot-smoking joker and then there’s the girlfriend from the next town over who knows more than she lets on, all of whom provide Christian with small revelations and tensions along the way.
There are intimate moments and a couple of strikingly romantic scenes which made me smile all goofily, but what transpires between the two is not only sweet and sexy but full of an innocence and peppered with moments of nervousness and self-consciousness which reflect their age and experience.

The story has realistic dialogue, a good, clear writing style, with only a few minor errors with punctuation and differences in formatting between chapters that I found fairly easy to overlook. The themes of Christianity and religion and homosexuality were well handled through multiple characters, and yet never overbearing or heavy handed. Acceptance and negotiating other people’s opinions in a small town all play a part in this story as well.

I felt the plot unfolded in such a way that the reader really got a chance to know the characters and the town, as well as wanting to read on to find out more and more. Perhaps my only point of contention was that I felt the climax of the story was a little hurried and a change of pace. It felt as though there was still so much left to explore, yet, maybe the author didn’t want to leave us with every question answered, all the ends tied up, and an easy happily ever after.

The ending did provide hope though, and I’m very glad I took my friend’s recommendation and read and reviewed this story and now I hope you’ll take mine: This is a thoroughly enjoyable story! I hope you'll read it and enjoy it as much as I did!