Customer Reviews

The Passage (Becoming Beka Series, Book 3)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Beka Madison has a decision to make. Both Josh and Mark are interested in her and she is attracted to each of them in different ways. Josh will soon be leaving for college, and Beka feels that she might be better off choosing Mark since he'll still be around.

Beka searches for God's guidance, but is not sure if it's God's voice or her own she hears.

On top of her boyfriend problems, Beka is jealous of her widowed father's relationship with another woman, and her nemesis, Gretchen, is acting strangely. Why is she being nice?

Although I'm a grandmother, I identified with Beka. Her feelings and problems brought back memories of my own dating experiences years ago. Sumpolec has again masterfully captured the mind and heart of a teenage girl. I identified with Beka's problems just as intensely as in the first book of the series, The Masquerade. I highly recommend Sumpolec's Becoming Beka Series for teenage girls and anyone who loves them.

Beka in the becoming Beka series keeps falling into the same traps. She knows what the rules of her house are, but she keeps pushing the envelope. As a new Christian, she knows what she should do, but she keeps looking for loopholes. She wants it all written out in black and white. Of course life is never like that. Teens especially are living in a very difficult time. Sarah Anne Sumpolec brings many of the issues that teens face out in this book. The Becoming Beka series has developed into real, believable characters with real, today issues. In my opinion, The Passage is the best book in the series. If you missed the first two installments, don't worry. You'll enjoy this one.

Sarah Sumplec does it again! In the third installment for the Becoming Beka series, we find Beka glancing down a number of roads. Will dreams come true with Mark or Josh? Or is there a nightmare in the shadows up ahead? The Passage deals head on with the confusion relationships can bring. Beka wonders if her father is a rock or merely a stumbling block along the road. Does God hear her and if He does, why won't He shout the direction? Enjoy this intriguing story which will delight teens and adults alike. Look out! Revenge is in the shadows!

Sarah Anne Sumpolec captures the voice of today's teens. She creates not only believable characters but flawed ones as well. Her main character Beka is a Christian, but she makes many conscious choices to sin and go against her father's wishes. Modern teens will relate to and root for Beka who seems mired in difficulty situations and choices. Although she has a relationship with God, it's not always alive and real. The Passage portrays, in honest terms, teens' struggles to find a balance in their relationship with God.

Teens can now read THE PASSAGE, a third book in the Becoming Beka series by Sarah Anne Sumpolec. Sometimes Beka's faith in God leads her. Sometimes Beka leads herself. Sumpolec weaves a unique story in THE PASSAGE with likeable and not so likeable characters, which kept me turning pages. If the reader has not read the first two Beka books, they will still have an idea of the challenges Beka has faced in the past, while her story moves forward. I plan to read the first two Beka books and add these to my library. I look forward to future Sarah Anne Sumpolec books.

Gotta admit, the teen romance drama drives me nuts as Beka goes back and forth between guys, but the author does a great job portraying Beka as very realistic - imperfect, but moldable. Beka pushes the limits and does things deliberately against her dad's rules, feeling them to be unfair. She tunes out what she hears in regards to Christ and what He wants of her. But when she finally comes to her senses, she realizes that her dad had good reasons for his decision and at this time, pulls her Bible back out and realizes that even if it doesn't spell out names of potential boyfriends, it provides exactly the answers she needs. Because the Bible is frequently brought up and portrayed as being where to turn when life gets confusing, and because the wise adult characters and using it and prayer as the source for their decisions, I can highly recommend this book in spite of too much teen romance drama for my person tastes.
~ CTF Devourer

High school junior Beka Madison has seen a lot of changes throughout the year. Still adjusting to her mother's recent death, Beka struggles with her grief, finding good friends and becoming a Christian. In addition to the hard life lessons she learns along the way, Beka continues to wrestle with some old habits in this third installment of the Becoming Beka series.

Sarah Anne Sumpolec has a pulse on the heart of teens, and her brief, pithy conversational narratives keep the story moving along. Beka's father continues to spend time with Gabby, the kind-hearted woman who allows Beka's sister, Anna, to ride horses at her farm. While the rest of Beka's family relishes these afternoons together, Beka seethes inside. No one can replace her mom. (Except maybe Julie, Beka's counselor.)

In school, Beka's stress levels rise as her former friend turned enemy, Gretchen, gushes with kindness even though Beka turned her in for burning down the school's Snack Shack. Beka knows better than to believe that Gretchen has forgiven her. And then there's boy trouble. Which one to date? Beka can't decide between fellow student Mark, the one with the questionable past, and Josh, the homeschooled senior heading off to college in the fall.

With a potential romance brewing for her dad, the unresolved tension heightening with Gretchen, and being torn between Mark and Josh, Beka's mind is spinning. Through it all, she tries to trust God and discover His will; thankfully, she has the input of her good friend Lori to help challenge her thinking and actions at every juncture. Beka makes headway and then blunders, losing her dad's trust again. She resorts to lying, only to repent and confess before making even more serious mistakes.

By book's end, Beka realizes that being a Christian isn't at all easy and that developing a daily faith and trust in God is non-negotiable in the grand scheme of life.

--- Reviewed by Michele Howe