1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Blown away, December 26, 2011
This review is from: Faking Faith (Paperback)
I was led to this book through Meg Cabot's book club, and once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. I haven't found a page turner in a long time, but I couldn't stop reading. (I was literally reading it in between galleries at the Art Museum today). Bloss is an excellent author. Her story is solid, and her heroine has a strong voice. By the end of the novel I felt that Dylan was my friend, sharing her story and her secrets with me. Her other characters are equally splendid, and the themes of family, friendship, and communication are strong.
I also have great respect for the way Bloss handled the theme of religion. As Dylan was, I am fascinated by the culture of fundamentalist religion in today's modern society. We see it on TV in "reality" shows, and read about it online or in the paper. Bloss never once criticizes or degrades fundamentalist beliefs, nor does her character. In a way, I feel more confused than ever, just like Dylan. Regardless, it is left to the reader to make their own judgement.
I highly highly recommend this book. It has romance, and plenty of teen angst. It's a great change of pace from the Hunger Games/Twilight/Mortal Instruments of this world (even though I love all those books as well)
Two thumbs way up and five stars! I hope there is more from Josie Bloss soon
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
By Courtesy of The Figment Review at Figment[dot]Com, November 11, 2011
This review is from: Faking Faith (Paperback)
By Kat Alexander
Dylan Mahoney is an outcast. She used to have friends, good grades, and the trust of her parents. But that was before a certain short-lived boyfriend, a viral video of her attacking his car with a golf club, and a few photos of a very naked Dylan sent via text message. Abandoned and alone, Dylan turns to the Internet, and finds a new obsession--the blogs of fundamentalist Christian girls, the type who live on farms in the middle of nowhere and have six siblings. Dylan, fascinated, creates her own blog with her own persona, pen-named Faith. But when she finds herself actually living amongst the bloggers, has her deception gone too far?
I read Faking Faith in a single sitting. Like, without getting up. Sat down. Read book. It didn't take long. It's a relatively quick read, and there aren't any real stopping points until the very end. It's not so much that there are massive cliff-hangers at the end of every chapter, but it's like reading TVTropes, or Dylan's blogs--once you start, you're pulled in by some weird fascination that doesn't allow you to put the book down. The plot is just so different from the usual. The feasibility of Dylan's trip to the home of one of her favorite bloggers might be questionable, but reading about the family she stays with is too interesting to think about it all that much.
Still, just because I was sucked in the whole time doesn't mean I was impressed the whole time. The beginning of the book is an information dump--the first four chapters are primarily dedicated to a summary of Dylan's life over the past six months. While it didn't entirely put me off reading, it did bother me. By the end of the history, I was bored of all the info-dump and couldn't wait to get into the part of the novel that actually sounds like a novel, instead of just an extended plot summary. The family Dylan stays with at times seems too canned--there is nothing surprising about them, nothing about them that one wouldn't expect based on their identity as religious fundamentalists. It's not that Faking Faith is a regurgitation of stereotypes or that the author didn't research, but I still wasn't entirely satisfied by the characterization.
Dylan really doesn't appeal to me at all as a narrator. In real life, I guess she'd be an acquaintance--not someone I would be friends with, but not someone I dislike. In a novel, though, she's annoying. She's surprised too often by her host family's behavior. She seems to lack a basic understanding of the culture and lifestyle of fundamentalist Christians, despite having read endless blogs about them. Her cluelessness doesn't seem to fit.
Overall, Faking Faith is an interesting book on an original topic. I enjoyed reading it, and stayed intrigued the whole time. There's a bit of romance, a bit of deception, some moral questioning. It's not all that hard-hitting or controversial, but for a quick read, it's at the least a solid, interesting one.
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2.0 out of 5 stars
Just ok..., February 5, 2012
This review is from: Faking Faith (Paperback)
I was not to eager to read this book after reading Josie Bloss's other book "Albatross" and I had a hard time to relating to the character because she started out as a overly stereotypical high school girl who throws away her friends for a boy that she knows is trouble. Boring, read this plot a million times. What makes this story unique is how the girl becomes fascinated with fundamentalist christian culture. This is the only reason I give this book two stars. Having seen every episode of most famous fundamentalist family on TV, 19 kids and counting, I do understand the fascination. However, several scenes in this novel are almost identical to things done on this show. This book is predictable, the main character is a little to dumb for my liking, and the ending just seems like the author gave up.
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