The West Brothers Series by Theresa Linden is everything you'd want from a young adult Catholic Series. They focus on the West brothers, and their day to day lives of navigating the difficult road to love Jesus and be a devout Catholic.  I've read Battle for His Soul and Standing Strong, and both books really brought home to me the struggle that teenage Catholics endure. These books will help your teen (and you!) think more deeply about what it means to be a Catholic in today's world. Jarret West, a rich teenage boy, has been accustomed to having control over others and getting his way. When his life begins to fall apart, his guardian angel Ellechial hopes now is the time for his conversion. Jarret must be freed from the deep clutches of Deth-kye, the demon bent on seeing him in hell. The fate of several others depends upon Jarret's conversion.While Jarret gets ensnared in Deth-kye's traps, Ellechial can provide little help since Jarret doesn't pray, doesn't believe, and hasn't listened to him in years. Ellechial hopes Jarret's twin brother, who has recently found God, will be able to influence him. But Jarret goes on vacation with his father and younger brother where temptations only increase. Meanwhile, Jarret's twin and other teens form a prayer group and begin to pray before the Blessed Sacrament unaware of the power they provide the angels. Though Ellechial gains strength, Deth-kye wins victory after victory. His weapons: emotion, vice, and memories. Who will win the battle for Jarret's soul?Jarret's story really touched me. Growing up in a Catholic household, I was the kid who went to church because my mom made me and beyond that I had no interest in God. I wasn't in to prayer, or a relationship with Jesus. I was a lot like Jarret in some ways. The day to day struggles that Jarret deals with (and his brothers, of course), are real examples of what it's like on the journey to love God when everything outside of you (and inside) is telling you not to. I had never before thought about what my Guardian Angel thinks of me, or how much he cares for me. Honestly, my Guardian Angel probably went through similar things with me when I was a teenager (and maybe even at times as an adult!). It really struck me that I am not alone in this world and that there is a spiritual battle going on but I don't have to fight it by myself. This book was a powerful reminder for me of just how much God loves me to give me my own Guardian Angel, who fights for me at every turn.When the path is not clear... When temptation is near... When God speaks in a whisper you can barely hear... Ever since that life-changing night in the canyon, Jarret has felt the presence of the Lord in his soul. Now that presence is fading. Is it his fault? How will he remain faithful without it when he still struggles against the same temptations? Questioning whether he has a true calling, Keefe reads everything he can about St. Francis and the Franciscans, but he’s afraid to talk to his father about the Franciscans' upcoming discernment retreat because his father seems closed to faith. Is he ready to go all in?Standing Strong is a testament to how hard it is to love God and be faithful to Him when we're not "feeling it." It's about how making the choice to love God is one thing, but sticking to it is another all together. Linden really understands what today's youth go through and shares it in a beautiful way. It reminds me of similar things I went through as a teenager, and that I'm sure all teens go through today: not knowing our place, finding the courage to follow God's call, and doing the right thing even when it'd be a million times easier not to. This story is a powerful reminder of the way that God interacts in our lives, and speaks to us in the quiet of our hearts. It's a testament to the struggle that today's youth face, and that it's hard to follow the right path. However, we are never alone. God is with us every step of the way and will help us to stand strong!About the AuthorI love our Catholic faith, especially the unique aspects of it: the saints, the Eucharist, even Confession! Growing up in a military family and moving every few years left me with the impression that life is an adventure. Married and homeschooling our three teenagers, I rarely get to travel anymore. But I love to write, so the adventures continue through my stories. My faith inspires the belief that there is no greater adventure than the realities we can’t see, the spiritual side of life. I hope the richness, depth, and mystery of our Catholic faith will spark my readers’ imaginations through my stories and make them more aware of these invisible realities and of the power of faith and grace. Standing Strong, the next book in my award-winning Catholic teen fiction series just came out! I am a Secular Franciscan and a member of the Catholic Writers Guild. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Check out my blog and website.website: www.theresalinden.comblog: https://catholicbooksblog.wordpress.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LindenTheresa Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theresa.linden.35Author InterviewWhat made you want to be a writer?Ever since grade school, I’ve enjoyed using my imagination and storytelling. My desire to write started with a role-playing game my sister and I created. We used to pretend we were different characters from our favorite books, movies and TV shows. And we acted out scenes all day, and sometimes into the wee hours of the night. As we got older, we turned our game into written stories. We took turns writing chapters, each one ending in a cliffhanger that the other had to write their way out of.What inspired your West Brothers' Series?In high school, our Catholic youth leader, Mrs. Grau, was so excited about the Catholic faith that she made all of us excited about it too. She always had a story to share about the amazing and supernatural aspects of the faith: things about Eucharistic miracles, angels, life-after-death accounts, and other miracles. I always came home with my mind in the clouds and my imagination racing. Years later, I decided I wanted to write a complete novel from beginning to end; I wanted to become a real writer. While I wanted every story to take readers on an adventure, I also wanted to impart the same excitement about the faith that Mrs. Grau instilled in us.  What inspired the newest book in this series, Standing Strong?     A reader’s email inspired this story. I learned about a teen who finished reading Battle for His Soul in two days and who texted his teacher (a nun) to find more of my books! The nun wrote, “This is a young man who does not like reading, and who is not the type to text nuns for a half an hour on a Sunday evening! But he is so ecstatic about this book.”Wow! I was so excited to learn that! Then the nun shared her ideas for the next story. She thought it would be great to read a novel about the converted Jarret West. Although he would want to do the right things, he would still have temptations and struggles to deal with and a lot of tough lessons to learn. “It’s great for modern youth to have examples of how to deal with the everyday struggles they have.”     After considering this nun’s suggestions concerning Jarret West—and his twin brother Keefe’s unfinished business from Battle for His Soul—the storyline for Standing Strong came together.What comes next in the West Brothers series?       I am in the process of writing Roland West, Outcast. In this story, Peter Brandt is crushing big-time on a girl in his shop class that has no interest in him. And Roland is investigating an act of vandalism to this girl’s home. (I do think Roland will grow up to be a detective, don’t you?) Anyway, Roland reluctantly agrees to look into this incident, but now he’s really enjoying himself. And Caitlyn’s helping too, but           Roland is stepping way outside his comfort zone to find answers. The theme of this story is speaking the truth—especially when it’s hard—because the truth saves.     This story overlaps Standing Strong, so I must be careful with the timeline and the content of a few scenes. A few scenes that were in Jarret’s or Keefe’s perspective in Standing Strong, will now be in Roland’s perspective in this story. Of course, the focus will be entirely different.While I don’t know how many total books will be in this series, I am also planning to write a Confirmation story, which I am very excited about. After that, who knows?