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Heaven Sent
Heaven’s life seems perfect. She has good grades, popularity, a rich family and the perfect boyfriend. Only she knows none of it is really true.
But one drunken mistake changes everything, as her life goes from bad to worse. With the end of school looming, a disappearing “boyfriend” and no parental support, Heaven can only wonder what her future holds.
Little does she know that it will be more than she bargained for. Sent to New Zealand to “protect” her father’s reputation, Heaven discovers a different kind of community and a different kind of future.
But one drunken mistake changes everything, as her life goes from bad to worse. With the end of school looming, a disappearing “boyfriend” and no parental support, Heaven can only wonder what her future holds.
Little does she know that it will be more than she bargained for. Sent to New Zealand to “protect” her father’s reputation, Heaven discovers a different kind of community and a different kind of future.
258 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2013
3 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 12, 2015
This Young Adult novel is set in both Australia and New Zealand. Heaven is the older daughter of a straight-laced, politician father and a hippie mother. She's lucky enough to be beautiful, smart and sporty in a culture which admires all three, and spends a lot of time trying not to be seduced into side-issues which have captivated most of her friends. As the story shows, one lapse to pressure may be enough to derail somebody's life completely.
The theme of the novel reminds me of toddlers playing with matches. We're taken instantly to a school setting with senior High School students. They are fascinated with sex and alcohol, but their flippant attitudes reveal that they don't really consider the potential dangers of what they're handling. Then, sadly, they are judged for their morals and mistakes, as if they are adults who knew entirely what they were doing all along. The reactions of both Heaven and Jarrod to the sudden twist in their plans speaks volumes.
I like that the main characters aren't completely typecast, as many of their friends seem to be. Jarrod certainly isn't the typical boyfriend who is after just one thing. He cares deeply for Heaven in his own way, and pays dearly for his impulsive mistake. For that matter, Heaven herself can be selfish (although I'm not sure this ever occurs to her). At times in the story, she doesn't give others the thing she craves most from them. At different times her mother and Jarrod both approach her, hurting and wanting to talk, but Heaven freezes them out, assuming that she already knows and won't like what they have to say.
It's very up-to-date, full of references to cutting edge technology and current Hollywood celebrities. This all makes the teenage characters' voices strong, but keep in mind that I'm writing this review at the start of 2015. Will it become dated in time, the same way as other YA novels from previous decades? On the other hand, will it even matter? Perhaps a well-written story will stand the test of time, no matter when it's set.
It's a Christian novel, but the denomination to which Heaven is introduced is identified outright as the Seventh Day Adventists, something I've found more unusual for fiction, in which churches are given indiscriminate names, such as 'The Community Church' so denominations won't be evident. I assume 'Heaven Sent' was published by a Seventh Day Adventist publishing house. The second half of the book may surprise readers who aren't expecting any type of Christian fiction, as it's not clear from the back cover blurb or the first half with the school setting.
Anyone who enjoyed the movie, 'Juno' might like to give this story a go, as Heaven's experiences are similar to Juno's in many ways. Another book this story reminds me of is 'The Last Virgin in Year Ten' by Rosanne Hawke. Overall, I think the story flows well and Heaven's voice is strong, making us want to stay with her, to see what she decides.
The theme of the novel reminds me of toddlers playing with matches. We're taken instantly to a school setting with senior High School students. They are fascinated with sex and alcohol, but their flippant attitudes reveal that they don't really consider the potential dangers of what they're handling. Then, sadly, they are judged for their morals and mistakes, as if they are adults who knew entirely what they were doing all along. The reactions of both Heaven and Jarrod to the sudden twist in their plans speaks volumes.
I like that the main characters aren't completely typecast, as many of their friends seem to be. Jarrod certainly isn't the typical boyfriend who is after just one thing. He cares deeply for Heaven in his own way, and pays dearly for his impulsive mistake. For that matter, Heaven herself can be selfish (although I'm not sure this ever occurs to her). At times in the story, she doesn't give others the thing she craves most from them. At different times her mother and Jarrod both approach her, hurting and wanting to talk, but Heaven freezes them out, assuming that she already knows and won't like what they have to say.
It's very up-to-date, full of references to cutting edge technology and current Hollywood celebrities. This all makes the teenage characters' voices strong, but keep in mind that I'm writing this review at the start of 2015. Will it become dated in time, the same way as other YA novels from previous decades? On the other hand, will it even matter? Perhaps a well-written story will stand the test of time, no matter when it's set.
It's a Christian novel, but the denomination to which Heaven is introduced is identified outright as the Seventh Day Adventists, something I've found more unusual for fiction, in which churches are given indiscriminate names, such as 'The Community Church' so denominations won't be evident. I assume 'Heaven Sent' was published by a Seventh Day Adventist publishing house. The second half of the book may surprise readers who aren't expecting any type of Christian fiction, as it's not clear from the back cover blurb or the first half with the school setting.
Anyone who enjoyed the movie, 'Juno' might like to give this story a go, as Heaven's experiences are similar to Juno's in many ways. Another book this story reminds me of is 'The Last Virgin in Year Ten' by Rosanne Hawke. Overall, I think the story flows well and Heaven's voice is strong, making us want to stay with her, to see what she decides.
December 19, 2023
I read this book in high school and it was wonderfully written I enjoyed every part of this book!
December 29, 2014
Heaven Sent is a contemporary young adult novel set in Australia and New Zealand. While it had some real strengths, there were also some weaknesses, and these outweighed the strengths, at least for the first half of the novel. The second half was better—but I almost didn’t get that far.
The back cover blurb talks about “one drunken mistake”, a “disappearing boyfriend” and Heaven being “sent to New Zealand to ‘protect’ her father’s reputation”. On that basis, seemed pretty obvious what the “mistake” was, and just left the reader wanting it to happen already, so we could move on with the plot. Well, it took forever. The first quarter of the book was Heaven persuading the reader that she really wasn’t interested in sex. Almost eighty pages, and it could have been covered in ten. Then more introspection while Heaven realises what’s happened and fesses up to the parents (who are having their own relationship issues). All in all, we’re up to page 144 out of 279 before Heaven even sets foot in New Zealand.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if the writing in this first half was good, but it wasn’t. It was slow and repetitive, with too much thinking and not enough action. The entire book is written in first person point of view from seventeen-year-old Heaven’s viewpoint, which perhaps explains the endless navel-gazing, but doesn’t excuse it.
But the really distracting thing was the editing. It seems the author and editors (yes, one editor and two copyeditors are credited) are allergic to the word “said”. No one says anything. They scowl, spit, yell, hurl, pipe up … and that’s just in the first chapter. It gets worse, with the addition of unnecessary adverbs, excessive punctuation (because it adds excitement, perhaps?!), and a minor character who starts as Ted and becomes Tom. On the plus side, the interior formatting was excellent and I liked the cover.
The pace in the second half was much better, and meant it was easier to skip over the writing issues (which were still there). The main problem in this second half was everything moved too fast. I don’t want to give spoilers so let’s just say this is Christian fiction (specifically, Seventh Day Adventist fiction), and 130 pages wasn’t long enough to make the inevitable progression in Heaven’s character arc credible. Sweet, yes, but not believable.
Overall, I give Heaven Sent one star for the first half and three for the second.
The back cover blurb talks about “one drunken mistake”, a “disappearing boyfriend” and Heaven being “sent to New Zealand to ‘protect’ her father’s reputation”. On that basis, seemed pretty obvious what the “mistake” was, and just left the reader wanting it to happen already, so we could move on with the plot. Well, it took forever. The first quarter of the book was Heaven persuading the reader that she really wasn’t interested in sex. Almost eighty pages, and it could have been covered in ten. Then more introspection while Heaven realises what’s happened and fesses up to the parents (who are having their own relationship issues). All in all, we’re up to page 144 out of 279 before Heaven even sets foot in New Zealand.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if the writing in this first half was good, but it wasn’t. It was slow and repetitive, with too much thinking and not enough action. The entire book is written in first person point of view from seventeen-year-old Heaven’s viewpoint, which perhaps explains the endless navel-gazing, but doesn’t excuse it.
But the really distracting thing was the editing. It seems the author and editors (yes, one editor and two copyeditors are credited) are allergic to the word “said”. No one says anything. They scowl, spit, yell, hurl, pipe up … and that’s just in the first chapter. It gets worse, with the addition of unnecessary adverbs, excessive punctuation (because it adds excitement, perhaps?!), and a minor character who starts as Ted and becomes Tom. On the plus side, the interior formatting was excellent and I liked the cover.
The pace in the second half was much better, and meant it was easier to skip over the writing issues (which were still there). The main problem in this second half was everything moved too fast. I don’t want to give spoilers so let’s just say this is Christian fiction (specifically, Seventh Day Adventist fiction), and 130 pages wasn’t long enough to make the inevitable progression in Heaven’s character arc credible. Sweet, yes, but not believable.
Overall, I give Heaven Sent one star for the first half and three for the second.
November 17, 2015
I really enjoyed this YA novel. Pacing in the early section could have been slightly tighter but it wasn't really such a drawback overall.
Heaven was named by her hippie mother, her sister Cathy by her politician father. The contrast between the parents and their discordant lifestyles form a backdrop to the plot. Although her father's career in politics is over, he is still a 'name' and when his philandering becomes public, the house becomes a warzone besieged by journalists.
Heaven herself is doing ok, despite it all. She's a runner who loves sport. And she has the best, most understanding boyfriend in the world - Jarrod - who, unlike her friends' boyfriends, doesn't pressure her for sex. Much. He respects her and it's a relief to be able to choose her own values and be honoured in those choices. Jarrod makes it clear he wants to sleep with her but that he'll be guided by her decisions.
Then there's a party where Heaven gets so drunk she's legless. Jarrod takes advantage of the opportunity and Heaven is caught between fury and disbelief. She might have said, 'Yes,' but he knew she was so drunk she didn't know what she was saying. Why would he think her previous stand on physical intimacy had changed.
Jarrod shows an even more selfish, piggish side when she learns she's pregnant. That's after she's already fled the abortion clinic at the last moment.
Heaven's mum decides that, given the media attention on the family, the best thing for her is to head off to cousins in NZ. Cousins who turn out to be Christians and members of the Seventh Day Adventists. Heaven, being vegetarian because of her hippie mum's influence, fits right in. She's not too sure about the God talk but the family are so welcoming she finds herself being drawn in.
But should she keep the baby? Will it mean sacrificing her goal to become a doctor? What about the tall Kiwi bloke she's starting to feel safe with? Should she acquiesce with her parents' plans to get Jarrod a top job on the condition he marry her?
Too many choices. And Heaven's wary because of one mistaken choice...
An easy, absorbing read.
It did however feature one of the L words which features in my personal crusade. So I point out, yet again, that lightening is not the forked electrical discharge that occurs during storms. Lightning is.
And you're and your are frequently confused; as are its and it's.
Heaven was named by her hippie mother, her sister Cathy by her politician father. The contrast between the parents and their discordant lifestyles form a backdrop to the plot. Although her father's career in politics is over, he is still a 'name' and when his philandering becomes public, the house becomes a warzone besieged by journalists.
Heaven herself is doing ok, despite it all. She's a runner who loves sport. And she has the best, most understanding boyfriend in the world - Jarrod - who, unlike her friends' boyfriends, doesn't pressure her for sex. Much. He respects her and it's a relief to be able to choose her own values and be honoured in those choices. Jarrod makes it clear he wants to sleep with her but that he'll be guided by her decisions.
Then there's a party where Heaven gets so drunk she's legless. Jarrod takes advantage of the opportunity and Heaven is caught between fury and disbelief. She might have said, 'Yes,' but he knew she was so drunk she didn't know what she was saying. Why would he think her previous stand on physical intimacy had changed.
Jarrod shows an even more selfish, piggish side when she learns she's pregnant. That's after she's already fled the abortion clinic at the last moment.
Heaven's mum decides that, given the media attention on the family, the best thing for her is to head off to cousins in NZ. Cousins who turn out to be Christians and members of the Seventh Day Adventists. Heaven, being vegetarian because of her hippie mum's influence, fits right in. She's not too sure about the God talk but the family are so welcoming she finds herself being drawn in.
But should she keep the baby? Will it mean sacrificing her goal to become a doctor? What about the tall Kiwi bloke she's starting to feel safe with? Should she acquiesce with her parents' plans to get Jarrod a top job on the condition he marry her?
Too many choices. And Heaven's wary because of one mistaken choice...
An easy, absorbing read.
It did however feature one of the L words which features in my personal crusade. So I point out, yet again, that lightening is not the forked electrical discharge that occurs during storms. Lightning is.
And you're and your are frequently confused; as are its and it's.
July 29, 2020
Heaven Sent is a truly amazing book!
When I was given a copy of this to read in the early stages of this novels development I knew that the author was on to something special. A message that doesn't often get told but should, the story of SPOILER ALERT teenage pregnancy.
Personally knowing quite a few teen mums, I've always failed to grasp how this could happen to the person and boy did this sort it out!
While reading this book I went through a roller coaster of emotions, it helped me realise that bad things do happen to good people but it should never get us down.
This book should be compulsory reading for all teens!
When I was given a copy of this to read in the early stages of this novels development I knew that the author was on to something special. A message that doesn't often get told but should, the story of SPOILER ALERT teenage pregnancy.
Personally knowing quite a few teen mums, I've always failed to grasp how this could happen to the person and boy did this sort it out!
While reading this book I went through a roller coaster of emotions, it helped me realise that bad things do happen to good people but it should never get us down.
This book should be compulsory reading for all teens!
July 17, 2024
I think the idea for this book was great.... but unfortunately poorly executed.
Overall I found the writing quality lacking - very slow pacing in the first half of the book and many characters that were introduced that added little to no depth to the story. I also felt the author trying too hard to educate along the way, thus resulting in unnecessary words/paragraphs that were distracting to the story telling.
The first half of the book I am left with the sense that the author is almost trying to convince me of the sinfulness of sex, alcohol and eating meat... so much effort was made to give the impression that the main character (Heaven) dislikes/fears/hates sex and alcohol to the point I found her to be a little unbelievable as a (non-Christian) teenage character. This unfortunately I feel limits the audience that this book could influence to conservative Christians, rather than teenage girls as a whole.
Overall I found the writing quality lacking - very slow pacing in the first half of the book and many characters that were introduced that added little to no depth to the story. I also felt the author trying too hard to educate along the way, thus resulting in unnecessary words/paragraphs that were distracting to the story telling.
The first half of the book I am left with the sense that the author is almost trying to convince me of the sinfulness of sex, alcohol and eating meat... so much effort was made to give the impression that the main character (Heaven) dislikes/fears/hates sex and alcohol to the point I found her to be a little unbelievable as a (non-Christian) teenage character. This unfortunately I feel limits the audience that this book could influence to conservative Christians, rather than teenage girls as a whole.
May 27, 2020
I read this book twice actually! and both times i read it , i quickly finished in a day , not wanting to put it down and wait for the ending. This book really hit home because you do not find a lot of books on seventh day adventist with problems such as sexual assault. Topics like these are not discussed in the church and Amanda Bews shed a big light on that.
April 24, 2013
I am not usually a fan of YA reads but this I enjoyed. I found Heaven's voice authentic & easily related to and the author captured the thoughts and questions of a young girl exploring her spirituality while dealing with a tough situation in a very honest and real way. I find at times Christian literature can be saccharine or preachy (I'm a tough customer ;) ) - Heaven's story was none of that, it was a very natural unfolding and progression as she explored what faith might mean for her. I chuckled in several places, Heaven is a typical teenager! As an expat Kiwi, I enjoyed reminiscing about familiar settings in New Zealand too.
Full of hope, promise and grace, this is an uplifting novel despite the circumstance Heaven finds herself in. Her situation is sadly not uncommon and this novel is recommended particularly for teens as they begin to tackle some of the bigger issues in life.
Full of hope, promise and grace, this is an uplifting novel despite the circumstance Heaven finds herself in. Her situation is sadly not uncommon and this novel is recommended particularly for teens as they begin to tackle some of the bigger issues in life.
February 20, 2016
This book was amazing and kept me riveted from beginning to end. This book is aimed at older teens, but as an adult, I found it just as good as if it was aimed at me!
Can't wait to read Amanda Bews' next book!
Can't wait to read Amanda Bews' next book!
April 24, 2013
A very captivating read, I couldn't put it down for a second. Loved the characters and familiar locations.
May 11, 2013
loved it! Heaven will be with me for years.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews