Customer Reviews

The Masquerade (Becoming Beka Series, Book 1)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Honestly, I bought this book because the main character had the same name as me. I found it was VERY easy to relate to the main character. Beka is so real, and I've had a lot of the feelings she has. All of the characters are perfect. Beka had just lost her mother in a car crash that year, and that part is really sad. Beka has a secret she's keeping from her family. When you discover it, you may think it's lame. But when you think about it, it's really real and it happens all the time, and it's not lame at all!!! This is a great book for any teens who have felt confused about life or God. Beka was SO CONFUSED she didn't even know what she believed, but she got sorted out by the end.

The author of this book is a total sweetheart, and you can e-mail her at becomingbeka.com.

This is a great book, so read it! It think you'll like it.

This is a MUST read for teen girls--AND their parents. Beka has some serious issues that have profoundly influenced her attitude. The loss of her mother has turned her world upside down, because Beka has a terrible secret that is eating her up and her mother died believing a lie. The more she tries to hide her secret, the more she withdraws from her family, and the more rebellious she becomes. And as she distances herself from her family, in an effort to be accepted and 'popular' at school, Beka falls in with the wrong crowd.
In many ways, Beka is probably typical of any young girl struggling with the teen years. Yet, she has some unusual burdens that are driving her down a very dangerous road. Finally, her father takes matters into his own hands and forces Beka to deal with her problem...or else.

Rebekah Madison woke up in the early morning hours again, reliving the nightmare that had plagued her since her mother's auto accident death months earlier. Beka knew she wouldn't go back to sleep; this eerie, pre-dawn pattern had been escalating, and it frightened her. Despite the fact that Beka had a family who loved and cared for her, she felt alienated and alone. Her soul was parched and her conscience seared. She had a secret that was eating her up inside.

When Beka's parents made a crucial life change some years before and started attending a local church, doing home Bible studies and wanting their kids to join in, Beka's siblings had no trouble doing so. Each member of Beka's family got "saved," so seeing how distressed her parents were over her ambivalence, Beka began pretending to be a Christian. Though she drew the line at joining her mother and sisters for their intimate Bible study, Beka "acted" like a Christian in every other way. But she knew she wasn't one, and the masquerading grew into monstrous proportions as one lie heaped upon another.

Given her mother's unexpected death, Beka grieved alone and her lack of "faith" put her on the outside of her family's mutual ability to share and work through their tragedy. Feeling pressure from a former "friend" at school, Beka works to create a new life for herself. She tries out for a part in the school play and gets it. She meets another hurting teen, and they forge a bond. She develops an interest in a fellow classmate, and their connection forces Beka to rethink her current vacillating standards. Without really intending to, Beka follows the crowd into some experimentation with drinking, and the trouble that ensues compels Beka's father to seek professional help for her. Humiliated and ashamed, Beka continues to try to work out her problems on her own.

Finally, an adult friend intervenes and offers Beka more concrete answers to her spiritual questions than anyone else ever has. Significantly, Beka realizes that truth is the foundation for all relationships if trust is to grow, and she summons up the courage to come clean with her family. Once confession has been made, Beka forges ahead with fresh understanding and renewed hope based upon a personal decision to follow Christ. Her only question: How will her newfound faith affect her at school, at church and at home?

--- Reviewed by Michele Howe.

As the walls of Beka's life crack around her, she feels powerless to stop the destruction. Dreams become nightmares of consuming proportions; with gnawing realization, Beka fears her secret will soon be exposed.

Sarah Sumpolec's The Masquerade explores sixteen- year old Beka's attempt to deal with her mother's death and a haunting secret. Through Beka's eyes, the reader experiences the turbulence of a family ripped apart by death and their attempt to pick up the pieces. Sumpolec reels in teen and young adult readers with a highly plausible story built on her rich foundation as a family counselor and teacher. With strong insight, the author shows the process of family and friends grappling with life issues.

Teenagers dive into this book and ask, "When will I know the secret? How can she get out of this mess?" Sumpolec challenges young adult readers to look beyond surface concerns and discover with Beka what really matters in life. Sumpolec reveals all, but at the right time and by degrees.

The Masquerade introduces a young woman in the throes of becoming who she was meant to be. We can walk further along that road with her in the Becoming Beka series. I recommend this first installment of Sumpolec's work as a refreshing keeper for anyone's collection.

Sarah Anne Sumpolec has captured the mind and heart of a teenage girl in her portrayal of Beka in "The Masquerade," the first book of her contemporary fiction series for teenaged girls. Sumpolec has worked with youth for over ten years, as a family counselor and as an elementary school teacher, and this experience shows in her excellent characterization of teens.

Beka Madison has a secret that is keeping her from being real with her parents. When her parents and brother and sisters become Christians, she pretends to also accept Jesus, but it is just to please her family. She then withdraws from them for fear they will discover that she's only pretending to be a Christian.

When her mother is killed in an accident, her guilt and confusion increase and she becomes depressed, gets in with the wrong crowd, and begins to let her schoolwork slide.

Beka's father finally confronts her and seeks professional help for her. When Beka admits to her father that she is not really a Christian, she finds that telling the truth was not as hard as she'd imagined and that it brings freedom from her guilt and feelings of isolation.

This book is a page turner, as events and relationships in Beka's life combine to challenge her to face her problems and to accept love-and herself. I highly recommend this book for all young girls. It would also be a great addition to any church library.

Beka Madisons's life is falling apart. Her mother has died in a car accident, and a secret she has kept is putting a gap between her and her family. Her life at school becomes more confusing everyday. Beka draws further into herself all the time. Sarah Anne Sumpolec creates a story that any person can identify with. Beka Madison is a very real person who deals with very real problems. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Beka Madison, age 16, has a secret. She keeps this secret from her family, from her friends, from her church, and (she thinks) from God. After the death of her mom, this secret begins to take over her life and change her.
In the midst of her inner turmoil over this masquerade, Beka must deal with life in her motherless family and with the choices that come with being a teenager. The reader becomes Beka, trying to decide which friends to trust, whether to go to the popular, unchaperoned party, and how to deal with her first truly romantic feelings. Because her secret has caused her to lie to others, telling lies in other areas of her life is incredibly easy until her choices catch up with her and the game she has been playing falls apart.
At first, the reader might think that Bekas problems are the emotional struggles of a young person dealing with grief. Author Sarah Sumpolec helps the reader to see that Bekas problems (and our own) also have a deeper, spiritual dimension. Without preaching, Sumpolec weaves a message of spiritual reality and faith through a story so real that you feel as if you either know Beka or you are Beka.
Teen and young adult readers will appreciate reading a book whose realistic main character deals with problems that ring true. Because the book is written in first person, readers feel as if they are getting a glimpse beyond just a Bekas diary type of thoughts and into the hidden musings of her mind. Perhaps these readers will be less afraid to face their daily circumstances after walking with Beka through the situations in this book.
As an adult reader, I took away a message, too. Adults, even Christian adults, can engage in a form of masquerade. We can play church, thinking that no one will know our secret. Worship and the Christian life can become a game that we get very good at playing. The Masquerade challenges us to realize that our masquerades can separate us from God and from one another.
Bekas story will continue in the next installment of the Becoming Beka series. Im looking forward to reading it!

I picked up this book for our church library because there are a few girls going through the loss of their mother. I've also lost my mother when I was a teenager. There are too few Christian teen books that deal with this subject.

The story starts out well and strong and then it becomes more preachy, or telling, less showing the readers the story. I found myself scanning and less wrapt in the story near the end. I understand the pull to explain Beka's conversion, and perfectly understand much of what she was going through. But it seemed a bit too forced. This may be why a couple of the reviewers were upset or didn't like the latter part of the book. However, this is what a lot of Christian books do. So in the Christian fic genre, it works fine.

While these books may be a few years old, my almost eleven year old is inhaling them and learning a ton from Beka's mistakes. (While she's eleven, she reads at an upper high-school level) They've lead to some great discussions between us as she processes what happens to Beka. Here's what my daughter has to say about this book:

The Masquerade is a WONDERFUL, AMAZING book. It is so life-like. The book was like a magnet that drew me back again and again. There were sometimes I laughed at her and other times I wanted to punch her, because her life is so messed up. She could fix it in an instant with some right choices, but she won't make those. So as she learned the hard way, I learned how to do it the right way. Beka is a little frustrating but fun because she handles her life in such an unusual way with unexpected choices. Beka has to Masquerade as a Christian. Pretending you're a Christian isn't easy, but she has to to feel like she fits in to her family. Her choices land her in a psychiatric hospital. It's quite the fun ride to take with her.

So if you have a tween or teen, you should suggest this book to them.

The Masquerade is the touching story of Beka, a teenage girl with a painful secret. Plagued by nightmares of the accident that killed her mother, Beka wears a "mask" to hide her pain and confusion. School, friends, and family are arenas where Becka learns the freedom of dropping her mask. This is a great story that every teenage girl will enjoy.