An interesting book on faith, faith healing, religion, and doubt. It's also done in a different way, from a different perspective than I have seen before. It's from the perspective of the sister. Her brother is the one people believe to be "special" in God's eyes.
I thought the author did a good job toggling between action and philosophizing. The questions raised are intelligent ones. And I liked that there were no easy answers provided. Plus, the main character (the sister) is very interesting. I liked her immediately.
I'd read more by the author.
I thought the author did a good job toggling between action and philosophizing. The questions raised are intelligent ones. And I liked that there were no easy answers provided. Plus, the main character (the sister) is very interesting. I liked her immediately.
I'd read more by the author.
Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
It all started when little Daniel disappeared. Anderson (Andi) and her friend, Jeff, were told they had to take Danny with them on their walk. They hiked through the woods to the fairy fort. The two teens only took their eyes off him for a minute. Danny was gone.
A frantic search followed, only to discover Danny had fallen some twenty feet down into an abandoned well. The rescue effort that followed lasted three days. Most of the volunteers and townspeople thought little Danny would not survive, but somehow the heartfelt prayers of the faithful worked a miracle and the little boy was rescued and simply treated for cuts and bruises.
After Danny's rescue, strange things began to happen in and around the town of Paradise, Pennsylvania. Danny's miraculous survival seemed to be contagious. Many believers began to credit him with healing the sick, communicating with the lost, and even bringing the fish back to the local lake. He had become the "Miracle Boy."
The problem was that Danny was now several years older, and when he was called upon to "pray" for some miracle cure or recovery, his older sister, Andi, worried that he didn't truly have any special powers. What if one day his prayers weren't answered? Would he understand or would he take the failure to heart and shoulder unbearable guilt? Why wouldn't people just leave him alone?
Andi has seen enough. Her mother seems to want to exploit Danny and his miracle cures. Andi blames her mother for driving away her father. Anger as well as fear for her brother's safety is driving Andi to devise a cunning and dangerous plan to convince Danny's followers that he is just a normal little boy. Will she succeed before well-meaning locals and nutcases coming from near and far manage to ruin the life of her innocent little brother?
THE MIRACLE STEALER is the story of faith. Is faith something that can be proven with facts, or is it the feeling that what happens is controlled by a higher authority? Author Neil Connelly takes readers on a journey with Andi as she struggles to decide if she has faith or if fate depends on her actions alone. It is a struggle many face, often more than once in life. Connelly's story will speak to many and perhaps answer the question for some.
It all started when little Daniel disappeared. Anderson (Andi) and her friend, Jeff, were told they had to take Danny with them on their walk. They hiked through the woods to the fairy fort. The two teens only took their eyes off him for a minute. Danny was gone.
A frantic search followed, only to discover Danny had fallen some twenty feet down into an abandoned well. The rescue effort that followed lasted three days. Most of the volunteers and townspeople thought little Danny would not survive, but somehow the heartfelt prayers of the faithful worked a miracle and the little boy was rescued and simply treated for cuts and bruises.
After Danny's rescue, strange things began to happen in and around the town of Paradise, Pennsylvania. Danny's miraculous survival seemed to be contagious. Many believers began to credit him with healing the sick, communicating with the lost, and even bringing the fish back to the local lake. He had become the "Miracle Boy."
The problem was that Danny was now several years older, and when he was called upon to "pray" for some miracle cure or recovery, his older sister, Andi, worried that he didn't truly have any special powers. What if one day his prayers weren't answered? Would he understand or would he take the failure to heart and shoulder unbearable guilt? Why wouldn't people just leave him alone?
Andi has seen enough. Her mother seems to want to exploit Danny and his miracle cures. Andi blames her mother for driving away her father. Anger as well as fear for her brother's safety is driving Andi to devise a cunning and dangerous plan to convince Danny's followers that he is just a normal little boy. Will she succeed before well-meaning locals and nutcases coming from near and far manage to ruin the life of her innocent little brother?
THE MIRACLE STEALER is the story of faith. Is faith something that can be proven with facts, or is it the feeling that what happens is controlled by a higher authority? Author Neil Connelly takes readers on a journey with Andi as she struggles to decide if she has faith or if fate depends on her actions alone. It is a struggle many face, often more than once in life. Connelly's story will speak to many and perhaps answer the question for some.
