Helpful Score: 1
Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com
Maddie and Joshua are best friends. Both kids of preachers, they have a lot in common. But then, one day Maddie and her family move away. The two vow to keep in touch, but as the years go by....the letters and communication stop.
Now, it's five years later and Joshua is the perfect son. He does everything expected of him. He's involved in all the right activities. He's gone so far as to give up basketball because it doesn't fit in with all his church obligations.
It's at church, as one could expect, that Joshua lays eyes on Maddie again. Though she's nothing like the awkward girl he recalls. She's definitely grown up (in all the right places) and goes by Madeline now. Coming to church dressed inappropriately immediately labels Madeline as a bad girl. Everyone has already written her off as trouble. But Joshua can't forget his friend and, with the blessing of his father, he sets out to save Madeline.
Madeline has been sent to live with her aunt for the summer. She got in trouble back home, and her father has shipped her off to the small town. But Madeline doesn't need saving. She's happy with who she is and resists any attempts at any interference. As the summer unfolds, Joshua and Madeline become reacquainted, and surprisingly, it's Joshua who might just be saved.
As with MY LIFE AS A RHOMBUS, I absolutely loved SAVING MADDIE. Joshua is pulled by what is expected of him, what he perceives as right and wrong, and ultimately, what he really wants for himself. Madeline makes him question everything he grew up accepting to be true. Madeline may not be a saint, far from it, but she is comfortable with who she has become and that causes Joshua much inner turmoil.
There is some discussion of sex and partying, but in the context of the story, it's far from offensive and gives a complete picture of the struggle going on inside Joshua.
Maddie and Joshua are best friends. Both kids of preachers, they have a lot in common. But then, one day Maddie and her family move away. The two vow to keep in touch, but as the years go by....the letters and communication stop.
Now, it's five years later and Joshua is the perfect son. He does everything expected of him. He's involved in all the right activities. He's gone so far as to give up basketball because it doesn't fit in with all his church obligations.
It's at church, as one could expect, that Joshua lays eyes on Maddie again. Though she's nothing like the awkward girl he recalls. She's definitely grown up (in all the right places) and goes by Madeline now. Coming to church dressed inappropriately immediately labels Madeline as a bad girl. Everyone has already written her off as trouble. But Joshua can't forget his friend and, with the blessing of his father, he sets out to save Madeline.
Madeline has been sent to live with her aunt for the summer. She got in trouble back home, and her father has shipped her off to the small town. But Madeline doesn't need saving. She's happy with who she is and resists any attempts at any interference. As the summer unfolds, Joshua and Madeline become reacquainted, and surprisingly, it's Joshua who might just be saved.
As with MY LIFE AS A RHOMBUS, I absolutely loved SAVING MADDIE. Joshua is pulled by what is expected of him, what he perceives as right and wrong, and ultimately, what he really wants for himself. Madeline makes him question everything he grew up accepting to be true. Madeline may not be a saint, far from it, but she is comfortable with who she has become and that causes Joshua much inner turmoil.
There is some discussion of sex and partying, but in the context of the story, it's far from offensive and gives a complete picture of the struggle going on inside Joshua.
