Caroline Johnston

I very much enjoyed this story of a group of friends on a ski trip, and their preparations, with budding romance, relationship and work issues, and past hurts to be worked through. I felt myself transported to the settings which were vividly described - the cosy lodge, the mountains. It's a gentle, caring kind of book, with elements of faith introduced in a gentle and non-threatening way. Loved it.

A real page turner as we follow Kirsty and Paul through all the pitfalls and challenges to their wedding day. Faith and love win through. Caroline knows how to make her readers laugh and feel tearful, she keeps us in suspense and creates loveable characters whom we follow to the end.

I could not put this book down the first time I read it. The author gets inside the mind and heart of a group of teenagers. Faced with normal school teenager angst of homework, hobbies, and the school play, the readers observe how friendships are made and also misunderstood. Asking the question ‘What if Jesus was a 14 year old teenager?’ impacts on thoughts and behaviours in a normal, interesting way. A young teenage friend of mine told me she had read the book four times and could not put it down! Now that is some recommendation!

This is a welcome follow-up to 'What If?' and it picks up the characters just a little later on. I love that Rachel (from the first book in the series) still features, but this is written from Andrew's point of view. This makes it accessible to all teenagers. It avoids the overly dramatic cliches that seem to plague many American teens (who appear to be in their 30s...) and instead follows an ordinary teen on his journey of self discovery. From Rachel's view of him as being confident and in control, we see the world through Andrew's eyes instead, where he doesn't always get it right or say the right thing.