Samara Taylor used to believe in miracles. She used to believe in a lot of things. As a pastor's kid, it's hard not to buy in to the idea of the perfect family, a loving God, and amazing grace. But lately, Sam has a lot of reason to doubt. Her mother lands in rehab after a DUI and her father seems more interested in his congregation than his family. When a young girl in her small town is kidnapped, the local tragedy overlaps with Sam's personal one, and the already-worn thread of faith holding her together begins to unravel. -Inside cover
When I first began reading Once Was Lost, I didn't really connect with the writing style; Zarr writes in a very matter-of-fact way that I've never really come across before. However, as I began to understand the inner-workings of Sam, I realized that the voice Zarr uses really did suit her character. In truth, both the style and the story grew on me.
The way Zarr tackled religion left me impressed; she didn't press faith on the reader, but also wrote honestly of Sam's doubts in God without hesitation. And what really struck me was how she not only crafted the aforementioned beautifully, but she also made it relatable. Every thought, emotion, and action from Sam felt understandable and mostly realistic.
Although this was not a favorite book of mine, I applaud Sara Zarr, and I do think that I will be looking around for a few of her other books to see what else she has to offer.
Rating: 8.5/10
<3 Cate
6 comments ♥:
I'm looking forward to reading this. I LOVED Zarr's Sweethearts. Haven't read Story of a Girl...which won the National Book Award a few years ago. It's also in my to-be-read pile!
Haven't read any books of this author, but this one sounds interesting to read. Thank you for your great review. :)
The cover reminds me of a Sarah Dessen book, but it's beautiful all the same.
Sara Zarr's reading style sounds interesting, I'll have to read it to see :)
nice review
Congrats, I gave you a blog award!!!
hmm, sounds good! I read Story of a Girl and was really impressed with it... I just didn't like the ending! x)
hmm ive had time to read a lot of your posts today and i really like the sounds of this book, it sounds like something i might be able to relate to even though im into the whole supernatural stuff at the moment, which is a far cry from God lol...
i like the cover too hehe
oh and my url has changed, and i think i lost all of my followers, im posting the first part of the Assassins series tonight, so here the new url...
storywings.blogspot.com
xx
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