Age: Young Adult
Genre: Fiction, suspense
Sixteen-year-old Kate Carter feels her life in the small
town of South Woodhaven Falls is anything but exciting. She’s not involved in
any groups at school or otherwise and she’s sworn off dating following an
experience she labels “Do Not Speak of Ever Ever Ever.” When she’s not doing
homework, she spends her free time drawing in her sketchbook and watching the
E! channel with her best (and really only) friend, Maddy. But something is
bound to happen to throw some excitement into her life, and it comes from an
unexpected assignment for her art class. A guest talks to the class about the career of
Forensic Sketching, and he describes a criminal to the class. Kate uses the
details the guest detective provides to compose a sketch of the criminal, only
to find out later that she has drawn a very accurate portrait of a serial
killer on the loose. When the killer is caught thanks to her sketch, Kate
becomes a local celebrity, but she finds that attention can also bring danger.
She’s soon under house arrest and followed constantly by police, who are trying
to protect her from any accomplices of the now-locked-up killer. But will the
police presence be enough to keep her safe? Kate begins to question what
happens after death as she fears for her life, helping guide her to church for
the first time in ages. In Erynn Mangum’s new book, Sketchy Behavior, the reader follows along with Kate as her life
goes from boring to frightening in all too short a time.
This is the first YA Christian novel I have ever read,
despite growing up Christian. I found Kate’s character to be funny and easy to
relate to. She never did anything that seemed out of character for her, so I
believed her as a person. I liked that the cultural references were modern and
I think teens will easily relate to the language. I was expecting this book to
be preachy, being unfamiliar with the genre, but was pleasantly surprised to
find it was not so. The Christian elements were woven into the story and didn’t
seem tacked-on. They caught me by surprise at first, however, because I’m not
used to any mention of God in my fiction reading. I think this book could
appeal to Christians and non-Christians alike since it’s a story of a girl
searching for meaning and explanation in her life. The story moves along well
and the drama should keep the reader interested. Non-Christians could relate to
Kate’s search for answers while Christians may see the need to talk to others
about Christ to help guide them. After all, it is through those around her
being truthful about their beliefs and inviting towards Kate that she grows in
closer relationship with God.
Bibliographical
Information:
Mangum,
Erynn. Sketchy Behavior. Zondervan,
2011.
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