Believe is a rich tapestry of friendship and integrity in the face of tragic events

 Bookworm Blogger: ARC Review: Believe by Sarah AronsonBelieve (Carolrhoda Books) by Sarah Aronson $17.95

Jaime Freeman was only six when she was pulled from the rubble of a synagogue to be the sole survivor of a suicide bombing that killed her parents and dozens of others. As a result of the bombing her burn-scarred, misshapen hands represent mystic survival to many. Others give them mystical qualities of hope, peace, faith. Some believe Jaime’s hands are those of a healer. Jamie, who has Americanized her name to Janine and lives in the United States with relatives, has spent years dodging those who plead for her healing touch, members of the media who continue to spread the myth of her healing and the faith-filled preacher who originally pulled her from the rubble.

On the date of the ten-year anniversary of the bombing Janine and her best friend Abe attempt to escape the media when Abe is struck by a car. Ignoring the media and witnesses, Janine rushes to his side and presses her hands to a head wound, fearing he will bleed to death before help can arrive.

She hears her dead mother’s voice and feels burning heat in her hands just as she experienced ten years before. Is this a hallucination or a healing? The media frenzy that ensues when stories and photos of the accident appear on the news pushes Janine to respond. She insists she is not a healer but she, too, begins to believe the stories about her abilities. Janine recognizes she must stop being a symbol and start being her own person—whoever that is.

To learn who she is, Janine must face issues of manipulation and control and she must figure out if she has become one of the manipulators by using her own minutes of fame for her own benefit. But even those who wish to protect Janine seem to have ulterior motives.

Is she thinking too much of herself rather than of those who need to believe in her? Will she miss the media attention if reporters move on to other stories? Janine confronts all of these issues as well as the biggest in her mind: Does prayer have the power to be heard by God?

In this novel which is due to be out September 1, Sarah Aronson has created a rich tapestry of human integrity and hope that can rise out of tragic events.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.