Behind the Clouds

by Abigail G. Thompson

Marlee Alden wants to be strong in her beliefs.
Seth Fletcher wants to escape his past.
Bethany James wants to be heard in a broken system.
Three colliding stories that change the meaning of home.

Marlee Alden does not like to stand out. However, on the first day of her sophomore year at her local community college, Marlee is assigned a project that forces her to confront what she has held dear, including the steadfastness of her relationship with her best friend, Seth Fletcher.
Seth is adopted. Wisteria Village never allows him to forget how privileged he is to have been saved from the system. He cannot help but feel pressured to live up to his fullest potential and accept a spot in a prestigious engineering program. Nevertheless, there is one roadblock: he wants nothing to do with college or engineering. When a figure from his past comes to haunt, friends redefine what purpose looks like, and when secrets are peeled back, Seth must confront once and for all where he is meant to be.
Bethany James never has a say in her life. That doesn’t change when she is thrown into the foster system. She wants nothing to do with her new foster family. All she wants is to graduate high school, attend college on scholarship, and never look back. However, when her foster family drags her to church for the first time, and a girl at school who won’t stop trying to befriend her, Bethany begins to question what she really wants in life.
As Marlee’s, Seth’s, and Bethany’s lives intersect, they must wrestle with questions that define the rest of their lives.

Genres: Christian Fiction

441 pages, Paperback

Published November 18, 2025

About the author

Abigail is the teen author behind The Halcyon Epics and the poetry book Scrawled Out Timeline. Her mission is to write God-glorifying fiction that compellingly uplifts Biblical themes and promotes divine Truth through heart-pounding stories so lives can be transformed by the Gospel’s message of hope and inspiration. When she isn't writing the next epic fantasy book, you can find her reading her favorite books, hanging out with friends, being a gym rat, obsessively drawing, or serving her church. 
​
Abigail is the founder of the social movement #ProtectCleanFiction, which aims to inspire and change the bookish culture around sexuality in books by providing a loving, thriving community of clean book lovers and educating others about the dangers of smut in fiction. 




Stay updated on books, special announcements, and other things at www.abigailg.com

Reviews

[Jacquelyn 💐 {This Rapunzel Reads} [Jesus Christ, my Living Hope] · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ebook arc in exchange for my review. This is one of those hard to review books. I liked some part and I didn’t like others. This is no hate to the author. This is my personal opinion. I felt like there was a lot of jumping around and bouncing around in between chapters. I wish it flowed a little smoother. I had a hard time connecting with either of the characters. I liked Bethany’s POV better than the other two and would’ve liked more of her. I don’t know why, but I wasn’t loving Marlee and Seth’s romance like other books I’ve read.

What I liked:

☁️ I liked the themes of fostering and adoption. The beauty and the painful parts of it. Those situations felt very real to me. Adoption is something I hope to do in the future and is very near and dear to my heart.

☁️ I liked the strong faith content and conversations. There were some very good quotes that I liked! More books need strong faith content and conversations. Great job on that, Abigail! 👏🏻

☁️ I liked the redemption arcs and themes of forgiveness and healing. I thought they were powerful and important.

☁️ I was pulled in once I started reading and I wanted to know what happened next.

☁️ I liked Pastor Lincoln. He reminded me of a character in one of my books.

What I didn’t like:

🌩️ Some of the words that were used like crap, flipping, freaking. Shut up was said a ton and it became repetitive. It’s just in my opinion that those were unnecessary.

🌩️ The formatting with the texts and journal entries felt thrown in and out of place for me. It kinda took me away from the story.

🌩️ There are some heavier topics dealt with in here that the author does warn about in her note. But there is a certain scene I felt like there was too much information. There were also a couple comments and a conversation that I felt was too far at least for me.

🌩️ The ending felt very abrupt to me.

Overall, I’m glad that I read it even though I didn’t love it. You can clearly see Abigail G Thompson’s love and passion for writing and Jesus as you read it.

[Victoria Lynn]

rtc

[Kaytlin Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Endorsement:
"Behind the Clouds is a beautiful and poignant story, raw and real, touching on the realities of foster care, the struggles of growing up, and the challenges facing the youth of our world today. Within its pages the reader can feel seen and walk away with a deeper sense of what it means to truly find home and hope behind the clouds."

Characters:
Marlee is a strong and beautiful character, her internal strength despite physical problems. I loved her journey of learning to stand strong for what she believed in and in letting others in. <3
Bethany…I related a lot with her y’all. Her story of being in the system once and then landing it in the system again. Her grief over her mom’s decisions, her determination that she will make something of her life. I loved her determination, related hard with her emotional journey, and can’t say more or I’ll spoil it…but I loved her!
Seth, I don’t know how to communicate how much I loved him. He had such a depth and I’m in the same situation as him right now…forgetting most days that I was ever part of any family but the one I’m in right now. The memories that rush back with contact with bio parents, some good, some not so great…the war of love and hate and wanting to put it all behind me but knowing how…#irelate

Themes:
Finding home and family, reaching out to others, being an understanding shoulder to cry on, setting boundaries, standing for what you believe, talking about your problems with others, not carrying your past like a burden but instead learning to unload it on God…the range of themes is amazing and very impactful!

Language:
N/A

Romance:
A cutesy romance between Seth and Marlee, that is all awkward and adorable. There are some flashbacks of a much more intense romance scene, but it is touched on and viewed by both as something wrong and not something they want to repeat. There is a lot of good conversations about it and boundaries in general.

Violence/Gore:
N/A

Other Notes:
There are some mentions of sexual assault, pimps, sex, etc…all addressed within a Bibical worldview. Even LGBTQ+ was touched on through a Biblical lens.

Overall:
Behind the Clouds is a book every young adult could learn something from, but also enjoy. It opens the door to what it means to be misunderstood or outside the normal. It pulls the curtain back on the complicated complexities of foster care for both the foster family and foster child. The system isn’t perfect, but there are good people aiming to do their jobs well. I’m thankful for the numerous case workers who have helped keep me and my siblings where we needed to be over the years.

I think this book has the potential to be world shaking for this generation…the question now is…are you ready to be shook?

Recommend age 14-15+

[Rhys-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve loved contemporary Christian YA fiction since I was a young teen, and this book, with its college-age protagonists and real-world themes, feels like the natural progression of my interest in the genre. I couldn’t be more impressed with the plot, characters, and themes in Behind the Clouds. I think we need more writers like Ms. Thompson who aren’t afraid to address difficult issues from a Christian perspective through the powerful medium of fiction.

I loved Seth and Marlee. Their unique struggles and difficulties made them feel like real people. Although I’m rarely a fan of romance, especially in young adult novels, I think their relationship actually added a lot to the story. Another aspect of this book I really liked was the contemporary setting. I suppose it’s because I grew up in a similar environment that it resonated with me so much. If you enjoy books set in the rural South featuring large homeschool families, you’ll like this one.

It’s difficult to come up with anything negative to say about such a lovely book, but if I had to name something, it would have to be the prose. It felt a bit unpolished, but not offputtingly so. Surprisingly, I was so caught up in the characters' lives that I didn't mind the writing style at all. One thing I did particularly enjoy about how this book was written was its incorporation of text messages, emails, journal entries, and such. I always appreciate when authors do that.

I received a free review copy of this book from the author and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

[Katja Labonté · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars (4/10 hearts). Wow, as soon as I saw this book I knew it'd be intense, and I was not mistake. It's a chunky little thing, and it holds so much!

First off, the characters. I related to Marlee in a lot of things—college student, English class, insomnia, health issues, porn, anxiety, long distance bestie—and I liked Seth; but for some reason, my favourite was Bethany. She was so precious, and her arc made me so happy. I would even have liked to see more of it 😉 The supporting characters were interesting and easy to keep distinct. And the plot, though somewhat slow-paced, never drags, while the romance is easy to root for.

My favourite part, though, was the topics touched in this book. Abigail Thompson didn't hold back any punches. Foster care trauma, rape, abortion, homosexuality, bullying, mental health issues, chronic illness + death/serious medical issues, drugs, prostitution, abuse, and parental mistreatment fill these pages. They're handled pretty well, and they're not too overwhelming, but they do make up an intense story. There were two things I struggled with (see content list below) but overall, the author does a good job shining Light and Hope into these dark, difficult topics.

Overall, this encouraged me and made me think. Honestly, Marlee's assignment stuck to me the most, because I've been in similar situations, and I don't know if in her shoes I'd have had her courage. I'm thankful for the chance to have read this, and I look forward to more by this author!

Content: SPOILERS! Seth & Marlee fall in love as teenagers (in the book, they're still both under 20—I think 17 and 18/19? not sure) and at a certain point exchange a kiss, then get caught up in their passions and end up together on a bed in a room with the door closed, both shirtless. Both admit they were on the verge of intimacy and Marlee repeats later in the book to Seth that she's ready to do it now (she knows—they both know—it's wrong, but they are honest about the temptation). This is a large part of the plot and well handled, except personally, I found the scene mentioned above got fairly detailed and made me pretty uncomfortable. I hadn't expected that level of detail. Others may be less bothered by this. Also, I was bothered by frequent mentions of parents threatening to spank their adult children, or said adult children acknowledging their parent could/would spank them. As mentioned, foster care trauma, rape, abortion, homosexuality, bullying, mental health issues, death/serious medical issues, drugs, prostitution, abuse, and parental mistreatment take up more or less large parts of the story; I'd recommend this for ages 16+ to 18+ depending on the person.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book for promotional purposes. I was not required to write a positive review. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.*

[Lexi T. Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, wow, wow.
This is only the second of Abigail’s books that I’ve actually finished, so I went in a little blind, but I loved it! It’s a timely, gritty read, dealing with the realities of foster care with tact and sensitivity.
I especially loved the guys’ kind but uncompromising butting into each others’ problems to solve them. 😂 And Marlee and Lea had me missing my bestie . . . 🥺
I would love to see books about Eli and Jack. 😏

I will say that while it’s YA, I would not hand this to a young teen who didn’t already know something about the world. I personally wouldn’t recommend this to my sheltered young friends without having their parents read it first. That said, for the kids to whom these topics are relevant and older teens who are familiar with the topics presented, this is a great read.
It would make a great guided read for parents to use for introducing their teen to these concepts.

Content Warnings: honestly there are a lot of them for a YA book. 😅 But that’s what a biblical take on s*xual¡ty and foster care will give you.
Brought up or referenced are discussions, depictions, and depictions of the aftermath (trauma responses, panic attacks) of s*xual assault/abцse, hцмаn tr@ff¡ck¡ng, domestic abцse, substance abцse, homos*xual¡ty, p0rnogr@phy.

While technically spice free, there are bluntly put references to SA and a brief “steamier” scene of slipping into temptation and stopping shy of premarital s3x (bluntly put, nondescriptive kisses and shirts off, calling it what it is).

Imo it’s a book written with discretion for those who have or need discretion, not one for every teen reader.

Language warnings: crap, flipping . . . I don’t recall others? In general I’m not a big fan of the culture of cursing even if the words used are euphemistic or “light swears.”

I’ve given this five stars for story and impact, but I could see room for improvement in editing. Not to nitpick, but a heads up to the readers who are inclined to nitpick, you will have to turn off the mental grammar/typo judging sometimes. 😂

All in all a great book and I can’t wait to read Abigail’s next release!

[Ebimobo-ere Faith]

I must say, we need more YA books like this.
Abigail G. Thompson's Behind the Clouds offers a compassionate and honest lens on the realities of foster care, without downplaying its harsh realities.
Through the lives of Seth, Marlee, and Bethany, the story beautifully weaves the themes of identity, faith, love, struggles, forgiveness, and redemption, portrayed with touches of poignancy.
I appreciated how faith and lots of heart were prevalent throughout this book. I highly recommend this read.

*Thanks to the author for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

[Anna Barroso]

Endorsement
Book 21 of 2025
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance, Christian Fiction
Format: E-book
(Because I was asked to endorse this book, this “review” is written to reflect that.)

Pitch
Three teenagers finding the meaning of home. Sound of Hope meets John Green in this YA romance about foster care.

Endorsement
Behind the Clouds is a heart-gripping tale of love, loss, and legacy. It’s full of redemption and restoration. It’s heavy, but heartfelt, and ultimately, it points readers to the saving grace of Christ.

Review
This story discusses some hard themes. It addresses the realities of foster care and how some take advantage of that by trafficking children in the system. It also discusses some reasons a child might enter foster care, like: parental drug and alcohol abuse, neglect, and physical and emotional abuse. It also addresses areas where teens might struggle with lust, like watching pornography and going too far while making out.

Now, with that said, the book was written in a manner that addresses these things without being too graphic or condoning the behavior. Because it is a Christian fiction, it reminds readers that there is forgiveness for these things, and in Christ, there is redemption and restoration.

Read if you like: John Green, The Colors of Rain

Check out Abigail G. Thompson’s Kickstarter for her YA contemporary novel titled Beyond the Clouds. It’s currently in the pre-launch stage.

[DayDreamer8912 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rate: 5/5
Genre: Christian Romance
🚨TW: mentions about abused, being sexually assaulted, mentions about taking drugs and alcohol and even sell drugs, loss of love one, grief
🚨CW: almost had sex

Read it if you like:
🌻 Triple POV
🌻 Chronic illness rep
🌻 Friends to more
🌻 Foster care
🌻 Christian themes
🌻 Big family
🌻 Friendships
🌻 Pro-life themes
🌻 Book loving FMC

Favourite Moments
🌻 The friendship between all of them.
🌻 Marlee trying to figure out what she wants to do in life.
🌻 Marlee made her stand to write what she wants to write.
🌻 Marlee, Seth and Bethany fighting their own struggles.
🌻 The characters in the stories relying on God.
🌻 Family and friends being there for them when they break down and don’t know what to do.
🌻 Names on the wall to pray for each other.
(lots more)

Swoony Moments
🌻 He cares and loves her.
🌻 He shows his vulnerable side to her.
🌻 He is there whenever she needs him.

Synopsis
Marlee
A young woman who is best friends with Seth for the longest time and they love each other. She is struggling with whether to write her book report in the world view or the Christian point of view.

Seth
A young man who wins in love with his best friend, Marlee. And he is struggling whether to forgive his mother who didn’t want anything to do with him.

Bethany
A young woman who got sexually assaulted from her uncle and have a mother who is involved with the drug ring and she had bad experiences with foster families since she had been going from one place to another.

Three characters.
Three stories.
Will they find God and rely on Him?
Read Behind the Clouds to find out.

Review
This story is just so heart-wrenching and bittersweet. Love each of the characters and their stories. The struggles that they go through. Marlee and Seth had known that a God who cares for them while Bethany will slowly got to know God who cares.

Love the people around them showing love to them and also helping them through their struggles and also be there for them whenever they need them. Love that they rely on God and also pray together.

What I learn?
God is always there for us though that we feel alone. And temptation is really real and we can always rely on God to help us like Marlee who choose to stay away from Seth for awhile because whenever she sees him, she will feel that she has lustful thoughts. Seth had also struggled with that too and decided to wait for her and also collect his thoughts too.

A spiritual warfare is really real and we just need to rely on God to help us and pray for each other because we can do it alone. Also asked God help us to forgive and love the unlovable just as He forgives and love us.


I was gifted complimentary ARC. All opinions are my own. Thanks @official_abigailg.thompson for the ARC.

Can’t wait to read other books from her.

You can purchase this story from Amazon and it is available on KU.

[Lexi · Rating 4 out of 5]

What would you do if you had to choose between a good mark and your beliefs?
It seems like a silly question at first, because the answer should be obvious, right? Yet when it faced me while reading Behind the Clouds I realised that answer wasn’t so simple. And that was just one question this book challenged me with - and far from the hardest one.
When I first started reading, I remember thinking, “is book going to take long to get to the point?” But before I knew it, I was instead thinking how relatable Marlee is and wondering “when did I get to 40% through?”. Suffice to say this book shocked me in more ways than one, I loved it.
I really enjoyed how fully fledged and complex each of the characters are. Often in stories only the main characters are given arcs that create complexity in their character, but in Behind the Clouds, Abigail really managed to flesh out each of the characters, including the minor ones. It made for a great experience while reading. The plot lines were so diverse and honestly just deeply interesting. But the best part of the book was probably the moral compass it followed- I think Abigail did an excellent job in how she approached certain topics and situations.
In all the book was just very beautiful and Abigail’s love for the themes really shone through into her work! I can’t wait to see what she does in future.
I’d would probably put the age rating for this book at about 16+, maybe 15 (if the reader is mature), simply because of some of the themes/scenes/conversations fit a older, Upper YA age group. As a 16 year old myself reading this I was a bit surprised by how surprised I was by it (if that makes any sense). Basically some of the scenes were also a little more intense than I expected.
So if you’re in that age group and you’re looking for a book to open your eyes or test your faith, this is it. And even if you’re not- READ IT!



Disclosure: I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Everything is my own thoughts and opinions. Happy reading!

[M. Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

***ARC Review***
THIS BOOK IS INCREDIBLE

Behind the Clouds goes into the redemptive and tragic sides of adoption and the foster system in a vivid way that is gripping, memorable, gritty, and captivating. This book handles the topics of adoption, fostering, abuse, trauma, and healing in a way that would be good for anyone 16 and up to read and sit with. That said, I would be careful about giving to younger teens, since these intense topics are discussed very candidly. Though the whole book is written through a biblical worldview, it is probably too blunt for many younger readers who are unfamiliar with or aren't yet ready to sit with many of the harsh realities of the foster care system. Behind the Clouds is written for young adults, but it is not an easy read, since it brings you face-to-face with the actualities of the foster care system in a stark way that will sit with you long after you read it.

The characters are realistic and relatable. Despite their very different individual stories and backgrounds, Seth, Marlee, and Bethany are incredible main characters. Their intertwining stories are very impactful and made the book's message all the more poignant. I also loved that the love and redemption that can only come through Christ is essential to this book.

Behind the Clouds is a must-read for older teens and adults who want Christian books that don't shy away from and will force them to confront difficult topics.

[Jesus Freak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking for a clean, fun book to read is hard nowadays. I used to just skip inappropriate parts and finish whatever book I was reading, but I will be honest, my curiosity sometimes got the better of me. About a two years ago, I came across Abigail's Instagram page. I loved everything she stood for, and her books themes were so interesting. A little while after I began to follow her, I felt inspired to look for clean fiction to remove the temptation of skimming inappropriate parts, and so I wouldn't be supporting the things I am morally against. Abigail's books are everything I could have asked for.
I have read the Halcyon Epic and while I do love those books, Behind The Clouds is by far my favorite. The story is so honest and relatable. I almost cried at certain points because the books seemed to be saying exactly what I was feeling. I love that it shows the difficulties in a Christian walk. It perfectly portrays the doubts, trials and slip ups us Christians sometimes make, and how God never leaves us even when we feel alone or forgotten. BTC also has so many cute, CLEAN "romantic" scenes, which absolutely made me giggle and kick my feet. I loved every aspect of this book, and I cannot wait to read the other amazing stories I know Abigail has in the works!!

[Helen Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got an ebook in exchange for a review. The topics in this book are very timely. I have been excited for this story since in infancy XD
Note: This is a YA book, but for older YA readers.

Bethany and Pastor Lincoln are my favourite characters with Marlee coming close behind. Seth is an interesting cookie, he has some strong moments but there were times when I wasnt sure about how I felt about the relationship between Seth and Marlee.

I will say that there is a lot of jumping around which can be a bit jarring at times. I also think the formatting for the ebook also made it hard to focus. I'm sure if I had a physical book it would have been a little easier to follow.

With all this said we need more bold stories like this in the world.

[Rocelia Wieler · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
So good! Seth and Marlee’s friendship was so beautiful. With so many shifts between light-heartedness and depth, I didn’t always know what would be coming for me in the next chapter.
I think I’m going to need to buy the book now too. I would definitely recommend this to young adult readers looking for a wholesome read. (You may or may not laugh and cry while reading this book)

Keep writing Abigail!!

[Amaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beutiful story of pain and healing. I could not put this down! Thompson did an amazing job portraying the pain caused by being in the foster care system and believing lies the enemy tries to tell us. All the charecters are well written and are very realistic!


romance: 2.75/5
violence 3/5

13+