The New Recruit {Book Review}

My first book review post! I'm pretty excited!

I read The New Recruit by Jill Williamson. First off, here's a short summary. 

"Forced to choose between military school and a Christian spy organization, skeptic Spencer Garmond signs on with the Bible geeks. But before he even boards the plane for Moscow, Spencer realizes this is no Bible club. These guys mean business. Stumbling onto a case involving a gang of homeless boys, a chilling tattoo, and the always beautiful Anya Vseveloda, Spencer struggles to find the faith needed to save the Mission League from enemy infiltration.   - See more at: http://www.jillwilliamson.com/books/the-new-recruit/#sthash.ckL6QXzb.dpuf" 

I was stunned. When I first started it, I wasn't really sure what I was getting into. And to be honest, the first few chapters didn't pull me in as much as I thought they would. I think when I really started getting into it was when the other teenage characters came in. But by the end I was completely entranced. I was quite unhappy when it ended. It left a lot of things unanswered. I realized later it's the first in a series so they will resolve the loose ends. I had to make an effort to calm down. 

The book began with Spencer. (It took me forever to get used to that name fitting his character. I know a Spencer who is the complete opposite so I kept getting confused.) He is a boy who is against "churchers" and anything related to God. He is rebellious and loves basketball. Prone to get into trouble and low moral standards. I found very little in common with him and it was difficult to relate to him. Usually in books, despite annoying main characters, I have concern and empathy for them. I care what happens. But with Spencer, every time he did something stupid, (which was pretty much every other chapter) I felt frustrated. He annoyed me so much! But I did grow to have some concern by the end. He reminded me of what one of my best friends would be like without knowing Jesus. It kinda freaked me out. 

The Christian theme of the book was well done I thought. One of the girls I could hardly believe was public schooled. She fit the stereotypical "homeschooler". Skirts, radical, talks ALL the time. (I'm not saying that's what all homeschoolers are, that's the stereotype and she fit it.) I was very annoyed with her but I admired her for her bravery. Reading about her passion for unreached people made me want to go on a missions trip SO bad.

 

There were a lot of typos in the book I noticed. But it was written well.  I really liked the style the author used. She did a really good job breaking it into "reports" so that even though it was written in first person, she could still switch characters every once in a while.

The main antagonist was suspected to be possessed by a demon, which really freaked me out. The idea of demons has always scared me. Which is quite ridiculous because I know I serve a God who has already defeated them. But still, I was thrown because I never expected that to be as prominent as it was.

I thought it was funny there was a girl named Beth who is my opposite in everything. She's athletic and tough, blonde and wise. Not like me at all. :)

Overall, I really liked the book. I would definitely recommend it! I give it 4 out of 5 stars. Head over to amazon and check it out for yourself!