Passing Through Paradise [Paperback]

John Schreiber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 2008

"In Paradise I stumbled onto a dead body, found my new mother, and was almost murdered." In the fall of 1989, young Angela Kiln and her father move to the slowly dying town of Paradise. Once they settle into small town life, Angela and her father, a high school teacher, find that the town isn´t the only thing dying - so, apparently, are students. As Angela and her father seek the truth behind the deaths, they will also face the truth about their own deepest beliefs.

Part suspenseful mystery, part sentimental journey, Passing Through Paradise is an alternately funny, gripping, and frightening account of a young girl, her still-grieving father, and a town that refuses to recognize the future. Filled with an unforgettable cast of characters, Passing Through Paradise dramatically reveals the best and worst of human nature, illuminated against a scathing indictment of an American small town. This new edition of Passing Through Paradise includes a discussion guide for book clubs. Other novels that take place in Schreiber's Ironwood County include Hillcrest Journal and Life on the Fly.

"Passing through Paradise is tough to put down. The themes are masterfully interwoven."

- Ruth Hanson, Byron Review

" . . . a suspenseful story told with insight, humor, conviction, and compassion."

- Andrew Johanson, Paradise Post, Ironwood County, Minnesota

"Schreiber has a wide range of imagination and the talent to put it into words. . . . His imagination invents word pictures that spark the mind to envision a screen larger than Hollywood is capable of."

- News-Enterprise, December 1, 2004

Helpful Link:

Schreiber has posted some of his published articles, essays, and poems along with book group discussion questions for P

Editorial Reviews

Review

Tough to put down. The themes are masterfully interwoven. -- Byron Review

From the Publisher

Passing Through Paradise is an alternately funny, suspenseful, sentimental, and chilling account of a young girl, her still-grieving father, and a town that refuses to recognize the future. Like the author’s "Hillcrest Journal," this novel of small town America explores how we deal with change, our real convictions, and, ultimately, the power of forgiveness and love.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 270 pages
• Publisher: Xlibris (September 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1413422926
• ISBN-13: 978-1413422924
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,746,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Schreiber (born 1954) is an American teacher, theater director, and writer. Originally from Saint Paul, Minnesota, he has taught English and directed over 120 plays in southern Minnesota since 1976. During that time he also helped pioneer teaching over interactive television and developed one of the first concurrent enrollment courses with a local college. He has received numerous awards including Ashland Oil's "Golden Apple Award," the "Selection of Excellence" from the MN Alliance for the Arts, and, most importantly, he was named as an Honor Roll Teacher in Minnesota in 2003.

His Ironwood County novels, ("Hillcrest Journal," "Passing Through Paradise," and "Life on the Fly") draw on many of his teaching experiences in rural Minnesota.

His collection of short stories, "Tales from 2 A.M." features stories written over the course of many years. Each story is written in a style designed to match the theme. Influences for these stories can be found in sources as diverse as Ray Bradbury and Mark Twain.

For his fifth novel, the epic fantasy "Heartstone," Schreiber employed a cinematic, real-time style that brings an extra immediacy to the action.

After promising himself never to write a novel as complicated as "Heartstone" again, he broke that promise and wrote the sequel "Heartstone: Under the Shadow."

He is currently working on a fourth novel in the Ironwood County series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, June 1, 2011

By 

Anonymous - See all my reviews

This review is from: Passing Through Paradise (Kindle Edition)

There is a great mystery that lies beyond the cover of this book. I thought it was kind of slow at the beginning, but then once things started to get "stirred" up it became more exciting. Trust me, you may think the beginning is super slow but don't put it down because there is page turning material ahead!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best and Worst of Small Town Life, August 15, 2004

By 

C. Harpel "Bibliophiliac" (In the middle of a Minnesota Cornfield) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Passing Through Paradise (Paperback)

Passing through Paradise is an enjoyable story with believable characters and a well-paced plot. The same could be said about many other murder/mystery books. However, the absolute clarity of the author's vision regarding small town, rural, Minnesota life is what makes this book stronger and finer than the majority.

John Schreiber has captured the essence of what is ugly in the culture of small town life. Anyone who has grown up in such a town understands how the denizens will close ranks against "outsiders" to protect "their own," even when those they protect are bullies, ruffians, and louts. Anyone who has grown up in such a town understands how, when they are very young, life-long residents are pigeon holed into roles which they are never allowed to escape. Anyone who has grown up in such a town understands how people with amazing potential choose to stay in an environment which stifles them and traps them in lives of quiet misery forever rather than risk leaving the security of what is known to face the fearful mysteries of the outer world.

Another strength in this novel is the characterization of the teenage characters. The author obviously knows adolescents and their struggles very well. Nothing sets my teeth on edge more than authors who write about adolescents without a clue of what real teenagers actually think and feel and do. The kids in this book were very real to me. In fact, I find myself thinking about what happened to them after the end of the book and how their lives would turn out. This, in my opinion, is the ultimate compliment for a writer. His characters became real to me. (It is the Velveteen Rabbit Effect, I guess.)

Some of the characters in this story personify the beauty and resilience of the human spirit. They have the attributes of humanity that make one willing to get up and try again, even when one would rather just lie down and give up. The attributes that make one continue to try to (a) figure out what is right and (b) do what is right, even though it seems one struggles against insurmountable odds. Other characters personify the nasty, self-centered, bullying elements of the human spirit. However, the characters, for the most part, are not presented as "heroes" and "villains." They are presented as flawed people who are trying to cope with their situations in the only ways they know how. Some of the characters who would be considered minor are the most intriguing and well drawn.

The point of view character, Angela, a precocious nine-year-old, is sometimes a bit too insightful, and her relationship with her English teacher dad is perhaps a bit too perfect, but these things did not lessen the impact of the story for me. Regarding the element of Christianity within the novel, I have mixed feelings. First, the Christianity was presented as a part of the main characters' overall personality. Unlike many stories which attempt to jam the You-Must-Be-Born-Again philosophy down the readers' throats, the message was presented gently and by characters who were struggling with major issues in their own faith. On the down side, I felt the Christian code of living presented was just a little too pat. Perhaps that is just me being envious of those whose faith is simple and pure as opposed to the convoluted and chaotic dance around the Almighty that characterizes my own religious experiences. At any rate, I don't believe anyone would find the religious element offensive; I certainly didn't.

In conclusion to this wordy review, I'd like to state that I read John's first book. After reading it, I thought, "Well, that was okay." Then I moved on to other things and didn't think about it much. This second novel is so much richer and fuller and deeper than the first. (I'm not saying the first was bad, mind you. It wasn't!) The growth of his skill as a novelist and storyteller was impressive. I look forward to reading his next efforts eagerly.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top notch literary action-thriller, July 4, 2011

By 

A. Johanson (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Passing Through Paradise (Paperback)

Looking for a little-known modern masterpiece? This combines mystery, action, great characters, all set in a believable small town in the Midwest--one nicknamed "Purgatory" by the residents. The nickname is not too far from the truth. It's also the story of a young girl dealing with grief and growing up. Read this. You will not be disappointed.