1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Get to know Jonna!, March 14, 2007
This review is from: A Mile from Sunday (The Lightfoot Trilogy #1) (Paperback)
In A Mile From Sunday Jonna Lightfoot McLaughlin is searching for love, just the right hair product and the story that will skyrocket her journalistic career. As the Denver Dispatch's one and only religion reporter, Jonna has a bird's eye view of the faithful whether in a church, synagogue, temple or commune together with their representatives, pastors, monks, priests, rabbis, all with their own story to tell. After enduring a smorgasbord approach to spiritual beliefs during her childhood instigated by her eclectic hippie loving parents, those same parents met Jesus, introduced Jonna and her brothers to Him, changing their lives forever.
Jonna's faith and her childhood experiences gave her a compassion and understanding of people's search for truth which she faithfully turned into articles popular with the Denver community. When Jonna's investigative nose sniffs out a sinister plot under the guise of faith, a Buddhist temple burns down and "God" starts messaging her, Jonna embarks on a search for truth and justice.
Jo Kadlecek has created a genuinely fascinating yet non-traditional Christian character in Jonna Lightfoot weaving an intriguing story and providing an inside look into the many faiths in our world today. Jo does not shy away from portraying Jonna with human frailties and an intelligence that sees her pondering the realities of life and faith, asking the questions we are often afraid to voice. Although not all will agree, it is Jonna's imperfections that endear her to the reader. Journeying with Jonna in the sequel, A Quarter After Tuesday , will no doubt be an engaging and rewarding experience.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun read, November 17, 2006
This review is from: A Mile from Sunday (The Lightfoot Trilogy #1) (Paperback)
Jonna Lightfoot McLaughlin, the number one (and only) religion reporter for the Denver Dispatch, is just sure that there is "good news" to be had in the world of religion-and she is going to find it. Unfortunately, most of the news that comes in is ugly, or is simply another church potluck. But "God" continues to call (sounding rather whiney), the monks are being pretty secretive, the "place to belong" is full but lifeless, and that attractive community center director--can he be as good as he seems?
Aside from the nearly cliched need for chocolate and great hair, this single girl mystery is a fun read. The suspense, though creepy, still allows for a good night's sleep and there is just enough going on that readers aren't quite sure who is up to what. I love how Jonna can count on her big brother, and that she has some vices that she knows are frowned upon by the typical Christian church. She is very human and trying oh, so hard to grow in her faith, but the stress...does it count if the cigarettes are organic?
Armchair Interviews says: An inspiring, fun read.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
A great start to the trilogy, August 18, 2008
This review is from: A Mile from Sunday (The Lightfoot Trilogy #1) (Paperback)
It's July 2003, and 27-year-old, caffeine-driven Jonna Lightfoot McLaughlin has been promoted to be the "Number One" (and only) "Religion Reporter" for "Denver's number two daily newspaper," the Dispatch. She's hoping to find human interest stories more inspiring than the annual regional convention of Southern Baptists. But when people phone her desk, well, she's never quite sure where a story lead will take her.
In the first chapters we're introduced to several potential stories: a Methodist church potluck; a Catholic charity for underprivileged children; a disturbed man who claims to be God; a fire at a Zen Buddhist cultural center; and a disgruntled parishioner who claims there's deep trouble --- sounds like criminal activity --- at Into the Fields Fellowship, a church that caters largely to immigrants. That's a lot of ground to cover, or uncover, in the course of about two weeks. As you might imagine, the plot moves quickly, with Jonna delving into the various Denver contexts, though she "passes" on the invitation to the potluck.
At first, A MILE FROM SUNDAY (set in the "mile high city," get it?) feels like a romance, there being two potential suitors: a blind date set up by Jonna's older brother Matt, and a handsome blond lawyer she's interviewing to get her feel-good story about the Catholic charity. But, ultimately, Jonna's critical questions come down to "who am I?" and "what's my next career move?" rather than on "who's my man?" As Jonna tracks down the various stories, the narrative takes on characteristics of a page-turning mystery. Where is this going? How will it turn out?
Eventually, the police get involved in several of Jonna's potential stories, and toward the finale, as storylines climax, a reader might have a hard time believing that Jonna can so quickly walk away from the fray. But then this is fiction, and a trilogy, at that, so you might expect that by the end Jonna is unscathed and ready for a new adventure.
Author Jo Kadlecek, who teaches writing at Gordon College, has drawn a lead character who can't quite quit smoking, though she assures God she will do so. She's forever sipping coffee and can't control her hair or her weight. She's no glamour girl, and that itself is part of the story, as she draws closer to understanding herself and her place in the kingdom of God.
An appendix of sorts (called "etc.") includes a 10-question discussion guide; a paragraph-long description of each of 12 "sacred sites to visit next time you're in the mile high city" (the buildings or named communities aren't discussed in the novel itself, which seems to stick to fictional sites); an "amateur reporter instruction kit," which asks readers "what religious sites or groups in your community...catch your attention?" and gives a few pointers for interviewing, researching and writing a freelance news story; and, finally, a teaser first chapter of the second book in the trilogy, A QUARTER AFTER TUESDAY, in which Jonna has settled into a new job as a religion reporter for a New Orleans newspaper.
--- Reviewed by Evelyn Bence
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