From School Library Journal
Grade 5 Up-Tolan revisits the Filkins family, introduced in Save Halloween! (Morrow, 1993). This time the focus is on Mark, the second-by a few minutes-of twin sons as he begins to create a separate identity for himself. Until now, being almost indistinguishable from his brother hasn't really bothered him. When their father asks the boys to deliver the sermon at a mid-week prayer service, Mark finds that he's not as excited at the prospect as Matthew is, even though both of them have always assumed that they would be preachers when they grew up. After the service, Mark begins to question whether this career path is what he really wants. The arrival in town of a Nobel Prize-winning scientist who works in genetic engineering ultimately leads Mark to question his faith as well. Colin Hendrick is dying of cancer and has returned to his hometown to spend his final days with his father. He is also helping Mark's class with a science research project. For the first time in his life Mark is doing something without his twin, and he likes it. He also begins to pray that Colin will be healed, and soon has his family, friends, and even the churches in town praying with him. Tolan has created believable, likable characters who are wrestling with serious spiritual and emotional issues and describes their struggles with sensitivity, compassion, and respect. While some may question the use of a miracle to resolve Mark's crisis of faith, it's not the miracle readers might expect, and it is a satisfying conclusion to Mark's story. It is also very satisfying to see religion treated as an important and integral part of people's lives, without either negative stereotyping or heavy-handed preaching.
Elaine Fort Weischedel, Turner Free Library, Randolph, MA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Mark and his twin brother, Matthew, have been raised to follow the family tradition of being Fundamentalist preachers. During eighth grade, though, Mark begins to find his relationship with Matthew suffocating. As he begins pulling away, he forms a friendship with a Nobel Prize^-winning scientist whose work in genetic engineering seems morally wrong to Mark's family. Taught to believe that prayer brings results, Mark goes through a crisis when his fervent prayers seem to be going unanswered. Tolan does not flinch from setting up a truly difficult dilemma for her character, and she realistically portrays the confused feelings of an adolescent attempting to individuate, and of a young Christian trying to figure out whom to believe. The pace moves gently at first, then inexorably, and the story comes to a poignant, believable conclusion. Such well-written fiction exploring Christian themes is rare, and many libraries will want to snap this up.
Susan Dove Lempke
