Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Review of Tom Davis' Scared

Riveting, compelling, heartbreaking and motivating. Those are the words I’d use to describe Scared, Tom Davis’ first novel. It is uncommon for me to cry when I read books. This might be because I gravitate toward books that deal honestly with tragedy and hardship. Perhaps I’ve developed some sort of tough literary skin as I read about devastating details of life hardships. Though, I found there was simply no way to resist crying while reading about the fictional accounts of Adanna, a young African girl carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders as she encountered tragedy upon tragedy.

Davis skillfully evokes compassion and awareness for what we as Americans spend little time thinking about; the plight of African people.

In Scared, Stuart Daniels, an award-winning photojournalist embarks upon a life changing journey as he heads to a small African country. He witnesses horrific scenes of destruction, AIDS and poverty beyond belief. Adanna, a young orphan is by far one of the most influential people Stuart meets on his pressure-filled trip. He witnesses her integrity and unyielding faith to the point where he can no longer view life in the same way. The book is wrought with scene after scene of a complicated blend of riveting truth and tragedy. Scared was strongly recommended to me by over three different individuals. I also highly suggest this read if you are yearning to better understand humanity and are aching to do something about the devastation that still rampantly exists throughout Africa.

Some memorable lines from Scared:

“Fear strangled the air.”

“Who would have thought a place so filled with death could also be so beautiful?”

“He was just talking dry wind to all of us.”

“Everything inside of me is being rearranged. Every particle and every speck of dust that makes up who I am is changing.”

“How do we give hope to men who have lost all hope?”

“In this place, Stu, God has a way of bringing people down to the essence of who they are.”

“But the mystery—how God is working in all this…that I have learned to trust.”

And finally one that applied to me as I read Scared, “Africa has opened the valve to my tear ducts, and now it won’t shut.”

If you’d like to learn more about Scared and how to help the current situation in Africa, click on the following links:


http://www.scaredthebook.com/
http://www.5for50.com/
http://www.cthomasdavis.com/
http://www.hopechest.org/
Or go to amazon to buy the book


I’ll leave you with one final quote from the book:

“God’s goodness didn’t just happen because I talked about it. I realized that I had to act.”

What's the last book you read that "opened the valve to your tear ducts?"

11 comments:

  1. Oh wow! Thanks for the review, Wendy! I must read that book. It sounds awesome.

    I feel like a book hasn't made me cry in awhile....now you have me thinking...

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  2. Love the line excerpts. Thanks for this review!

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  3. I'm experiencing some odd operating difficulties w/ Blogger folks. Hang in. Hopefully all will be resolved soon. One of the big disappointments is that I can't click through to your sites from my member/follower list. Anyone else having this problem?
    ~ Wendy

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  4. Got your FB message, Wendy! Trying to leave you a comment! Hope it goes through!

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  5. Great review...I think I'll pick this one up. Have you ever read "Left to Tell"? It's about a woman who barely survived and found God in the Rowanda Hollocaust. Amazing.

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  6. Yah Hoo! Comments are back. Still can't click through to your links...urgh! Am going to have to work on that.

    Tess, couldn't resist a quick comment--that is one of my favorite books (not sure I listed it on my profile...going to check).

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  7. The book that most recently made me cry: the stunning "Havah" by Tosca Lee. The fall of man and the consequences forthwith broke my heart.

    Thanks for asking, and for the review. Isn't it fun when God takes his love and pokes us into behaving out of character?
    Jen
    Audience of ONE

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  8. This sounds like a great book. :D

    Just One Wish by Janette Rallison had my tear ducts in emergency mode. O:)

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  9. Scared is the last book I read. It was awesome. I was sobbing at the end - the ugly kind - really confused my dogs! :o)

    I have passed this book on to a few friends and they are reading now.

    Shalom,
    Denise

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  10. It sounds amazing. Never heard of it before but wow...
    The last book I read was a historical romance and it did make my eyes prick a little. Not near the heavy issues though.

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  11. Hi Wendy,

    Thanks for the review - I am actually a publicist working with Tom on this book. If you would like to be added to our book review list, email me at ajennings@tbbmedia.com.

    Audra

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