Ripple Effect

April 1, 2009
Gr 8 Up-When Elizabeth goes missing, it is assumed that she has run away. In actuality, she has awakened in another girl's life. She's still in Fawlt Line, but the streets are different, her parents are dead, she has a new fiancé and friends, and she's not Elizabethshe's Sarah, and she's engaged to a man she's never seen before. She struggles to remember what happened, relying on her faith to help her understand as she begins to wonder if she is just going crazy, as Sarah's friends and family believe. Meanwhile, Elizabeth's best friend, Jeff, is accused of attacking and attempting to kill her when "her" body is found and "Elizabeth" lies in the hospital in a coma. His uncle, Malcolm, defends Jeff and starts looking into a theory that Elizabeth may have fallen through a time fault, a theory that might have merit based on several other cases that seem to fit the pattern. As he looks further into those cases, Malcolm finds a common thread. All of the "patients" who seem to have come from another life were in mortal danger when the switch occurred, and Jeff becomes determined to find a way through the time fault to save Elizabeth, his secret love, from death. A gripping adventure written in short chapters, with easy-to-read vocabulary, this book will appeal to teens who like mystery, thrillers, and fantasy, including reluctant readers. It falls into the Christian fiction genre, but has crossover appeal, as the author focuses on the characters' faith but it does not overshadow the excitement of the story."Jessica Miller, New Britain Public Library, CT"

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