About the Book:
Before You Take a Stand … You Got to Take a Chance.
Holden Harris is an eighteen-year-old locked in a prison of autism. Despite his quiet ways and quirky behaviors, Holden is very happy and socially normal—on the inside, in a private world all his own. In reality, he is bullied at school by kids who only see that he is very different.
Ella Reynolds is part of the “in” crowd. A cheerleader and star of the high school drama production, her life seems perfect. When she catches Holden listening to her rehearse for the school play, she is drawn to him … the way he is drawn to the music. Then, Ella makes a dramatic discovery—she and Holden were best friends as children.
Frustrated by the way Holden is bullied, and horrified at the indifference of her peers, Ella decides to take a stand against the most privileged and popular kids at school.
Including her boyfriend, Jake.
Ella believes miracles can happen in the unlikeliest places, and that just maybe an entire community might celebrate from the sidelines. But will Holden’s praying mother and the efforts of Ella and a cast of theater kids be enough to unlock the prison that contains Holden?
This time, friendship, faith, and the power of a song must be strong enough to open the doors to the miracle Holden needs.
About the Author:
New York Times Bestselling author Karen Kingsbury is America’s favorite inspirational novelist with over fifteen million books in print. Her Life-Changing Fiction has produced multiple bestsellers, including Take One, Between Sundays, Even Now, One Tuesday Morning, Beyond Tuesday Morning, and Ever After, which was named the 2007 Christian Book of the Year. An award-winning author and newly published songwriter, Karen has had several movies optioned for production, and her novel Like Dandelion Dust is in post production as a major motion picture release. Karen is also a nationally known speaker with several women’s groups. She lives in Washington State with her husband Don, and their six children, three of whom were adopted from Haiti.
Karen Kingsbury is a seasoned author, who creates stories that her readers can relate to in someway or another. One thing about her stories and her books, is that she uses Forever in Fiction…an auction of sorts, that honors a friend or family member by placing their name as a character in her books. I think that that adds a meaning to her already depth filled stories.
We saw about Unlocked in Karen Kingsbury’s Take Four book as the characters in that book were producing a movie entitled Unlocked, about a young man who has Autistic. I’ll be honest with you and tell you that I just wasn’t sure how that would pan out in a story all it’s own, like it would drag on and on and not be like her previous stories, that touch the heart. But, I was pleasantly surprised with the book when I sat down and opened the story. Karen took two very touchy subjects: bullying and Autism, and combined them in one powerful book.
In Unlocked, we meet Holden Harris, an Autistic high schooler locked inside himself. Her’s a tender hearted character who prays for EVERYONE, even if they are “mean jerks” who like to tease and bully him. Enter Jake Collins. He’s the “mean jerk” who’s intent on bullying Holden, along with his jock buddies, even his girlfriend says to stop. Enter beautiful Ella. God used Ella in Holden’s life to help him….well, that’s were I’ll stop for fear if I go on, I’ll give spoilers to the story.
Through a hard lesson in bullying and through the seriousness of Autism, Kingsbury shows that God can take every situation, bad, good, or in between, and use it as a message. She also shows the power that unrelenting prayer can have on ones life. It is truly amazing. This is definitely a 4 star book that should not be missed. Oh and did I mention that you should really have lots of tissues handy? Yea, well, in case I forgot to mention it…..HAVE TISSUES!
You can purchase your copy here.
*This book was provided for review by Zondervan*
