Trespasses Against Us (John Paul 2 High) [Paperback]

Christian M. Frank (Author)

Book Description

Series: John Paul 2 High | Publication Date: April 30, 2009

Celia Costain finds it tough being thought of as the perfect principal's daughter at John Paul 2 High.

Being Catholic has never been easy, but now Celia s friends are all dating and say she s uptight.

Celia can deal with that, but how can she relax with someone stalking her friend Allie?

And no one will tell her what s really going on!

John Paul 2 High, Book Two

Product Details

• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: Chisel and Cross Books, Sophia Institute Press (April 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933184531
• ISBN-13: 978-1933184531
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,069,489 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

What do you call a group of people who on the outside, are normal Catholics, but who have periodic crazy meetings late at night and sporadic email wars over plot points?

Well, you could call it a parish subcomittee, but that's also a good description of the John Paul 2 High Team.

The Team first started meeting three years ago when Sophia Press accepted our proposal to create a series of fun teen novels geared specifically to Catholic teens. Most of us grew up reading teen fiction, and we noticed how there were never any novels specifically for Catholic teens.

Sure, there was regular secular fiction, but lots of it could be pretty crass, and the main characters were fairly godless.

So some of us read Christian fiction, but sometimes that kind of fiction was too squeaky-clean to be really like "real life." Plus, the main characters might love God, but they never seemed to deal with the issues that most Catholic teens had to deal with.

In short, there wasn't any fiction out there for "people like us." So, we decided to write some.

And it's been a lot of work, but still a lot of fun. Together we created the characters we hope you'll come to know and love, and we created the stories we hope will keep you riveted. Right now we have fourteen books plotted out in the series, and some of us take turns writing them, under the name of Christian M. Frank.

Why do we take turns writing them? So we can publish more than one book a year. Our goal is to publish three books a year. Since it takes about a year to write a book, we needed to have more than one person writing the books.

And why use a pen name? So it's easy to find the books in the library, on Amazon searches, and so on. (Imagine how confusing it would be if Book One was published under the name of Strikeman, Book Two under the name of O'Shaughnensy, Book Three under the name of Suki Liam, etc.).

And why Christian M. Frank? Because some of us are proud graduates of Franciscan University of Steubenville, and some of us are proud graduates of Christendom College. So we thought we'd give half the name to each alma mater. And we put in an "M" for Mary, our Blessed Mother, to keep the peace between us.

So we hope you like the books, stay tuned for more, and if you think of it, say a prayer for us! Thanks!

Read more about the John Paul 2 High Series at johnpaul2high.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Looking for outstanding Catholic Teen Fiction? This is it!, September 30, 2009

By 

K. Hansen (Western New York State) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trespasses Against Us (John Paul 2 High) (Paperback)

Good fiction expressly written for Catholic teens has been a rarity - until now. Author Christian M. Frank has developed a series, John Paul 2 High. Book one in the series is Catholic Reluctantly and now he has written book two, Trespasses Against Us. Both books are available at The Catholic Company. Even if you don't have any teens in the family, I highly recommend that you buy the books for your local Catholic junior/senior high school. They will be very appreciative.

Trespasses Against Us is a thriller, often instructing the reader about Catholicism without being preachy and presents real life issues all teens face. The series takes place in a newly founded Catholic High School with a very small number of students. Celia is the girl who has a strong prayer life, is very modest and attends Eucharistic Adoration. George, Celia's best friend, asks Allie to be his girlfriend and he wisely seeks the counsel of a priest in confession. Allie has transferred from the local public school and doesn't really understand much of Catholic teaching and often even makes fun of it. Liz is a girl who sneaks behind her parents to spend time with a boy from another school who, like Liz, has no interest in purity.

As a parent, I appreciate the sensitivity the author uses in discussing troubling situations. One student talks with another about 'hickeys' and the girl is portrayed as a rather tragic case. Constantly ignoring the guidance of her friends and parents, she ends up realizing later in the book that perhaps she didn't know best. She seeks the help of Celia, the girl she used to mock because of her strong values. George and Allie, though dating, keep their relationship in check and guard themselves against the temptation to sin. At one point, Allie's stepfather attempts to give George something 'in a small package' out of his wallet. George, flustered, tells the stepfather that their relationship is not like that. Other students are not allowed to date yet and their parents have raised them to understand that dating is for preparation of marriage.

If your children have contact with others who are teens, even if you are a homeschooler, they will encounter children at some point who either rebel against the fine counsel of parents or their parents encourage inappropriate behavior. This book makes it clear in the end that those who call on God for help in difficult situations, frequent the Sacraments and honor their parents are the ones who emerge in the light.

I mentioned that the book is a thriller and thus far I haven't put a fine point on that. There is someone who is sending Allie threatening text messages and e-mails and they are getting more upsetting each time. George wants to be her protector and decides not to go to the police. He thinks he knows who is doing the harassing and believes that talk and reason will put an end to it. He ignores the guidance of his confessor and ends up over his head. I don't want to spoil the story but will just say that there is some violence at the end of book. All of the characters you have grown to care about are in a perilous situation and a person you do not care for ends up not being who you think he was.

I look forward to reading more of the series and highly recommend the book for mature pre-teens through adults. If parents are concerned about some of the topics in the book, I suggest you read it yourself first. Kids are longing for books that are exciting and Catholic at the same time and this is THE series. I asked my 11 year-old if he was interested in reading the book and he soon was deeply immersed in the plot line, rarely putting it down. Here is what he had to say about the book:

"I give this book 5/5 stars. The good thing about this series is that you can start with any book. This book is highly recommended for ages 14-19." A boy of few words.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Series for Teen Readers, April 29, 2009

By 

Nancy Carpentier Brown (Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trespasses Against Us (John Paul 2 High) (Paperback)

This is the second book in the John Paul 2 High series, and this one is even better than the first. Lots of action, the story moves along quickly and kept me up late turning pages so I could find out what happens next.

The ending leaves you hanging, but you'll have to hold on to that thought until Book 3 becomes available. You'll be hoping, like me, that it's going to be soon.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Sequel That Leaves You Wanting MORE!, June 19, 2010

By 

Sarah Reinhard "Catholic wife, mother, writer... (snoringscholar.com) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trespasses Against Us (John Paul 2 High) (Paperback)

Trespasses Against Us (John Paul 2 High), by Christian M. Frank, is the second in the John Paul II High series, and I must have forgotten how excited I was back when I read the first in the series. Since putting it down, I've been contemplating writing a letter to the author. The letter starts, Dear Mr. Frank, GET WRITING! As a writer myself, I know that's no easy mandate. As I understand it, he has a new baby and a grueling schedule.

But the way this book ended, I'm pretty much unable to think of much else. Once again, we have a plot that's edgy and engrossing and characters who are concrete and likable (except for the ones who aren't, of course). We have Catholicism as a seamless part of the fabric of the book; it's more than incidental, but very much NOT shoved down the reader's throat. Though my first thought on sharing these books are Catholic teens in my life, the other teens I know aren't far behind.

This book has all the ingredients of a great novel, and I'm going to be just as eager to read the next in the series as I was to get the latest Fairy Tale Novel.

Highly recommended for you AND the young people in your life.