Capturing Faith

Faith #1

by Victoria Schwimley

Chelsea Warren is the most popular girl in school, and the leader of the tightest clique on campus. The most important things to her are her looks and the respect of her followers. But Chelsea has a secret she doesn’t want anyone to know.

Amber Walker is compassionate, trustworthy, and the most well-adjusted girl in school. The most important thing to her is serving God and her community.

When an argument between Chelsea and her best friend occurs, she runs straight to Amber for help. Amber discovers Chelsea’s secret and turns to Pastor David Owens for assistance.

Ryan Evers is the smartest boy on campus, but when a careless accident leaves one of the girls clinging to life and Ryan the object of hate, he also turns to David.

Can David help these three troubled teens before it’s too late?

***Capturing Faith is the first in the Faith Series featuring Pastor David Owens***

198 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 28, 2014

About the author

I am a reader and an author. I love entertaining people with stories that are rich with characters. When I'm not writing or reading, you can find me sewing. I love to visit the ocean or the forest and would prefer to camp out in a cabin over a hotel room. I highly value my readers, and I very much a family person.

Reviews

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars

I truly enjoyed the message of this book and one of the main characters (Amber) was so likable. But it had a lot going on for such a short book- it felt a little overwhelming in that sense. Overall I did like it but not a new favorite.

Audio book source: Audible
Story Rating: 3.25 stars
Narrators: Randi Larson
Narration Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Contemporary Christian YA
Length:

[Boundless Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Capturing Faith was refreshing; just what I needed to hear! I love that I could listen to this book with my daughter in the car. She loved the story too, which was a plus. She was actually in a hurry to get in the car with me “so she could see what happen to…!”

I loved how Schwimley introduced and developed each character. She executed the story perfectly; not over or underwritten.  There’s just the right amount of suspense. I found Capturing Faith to be a smooth and pleasant read.

I give it 5 Boundless Stars and can’t wait to read (or listen to) the next book.

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[Rosemary Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is of teenagers, their beliefs, insecurities and mis-judgement in their ability to monitor their own behavior, in this instance, an example of the over use of caffeine.
An examination of the manner in which a belief in God, and how to best help others find their way to believing, is all interwoven with the lives of High school students and their everyday life dramas.
Also, there is a stark reminder of the excess of drugs and driving can have dior consequences, and it may not just affect the person driving.
I found the first half heavy on the religious messages, but as the tale unfolded, the reason for this becomes clear.

[Tabitha Ormiston-Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

In these days when so much Young Adult fiction is packed with hardcore sex and even bestiality, Capturing Faith is a breath of heavenly-scented fresh air. I thought at first I was going to criticise it for being rather unexciting, but that changed a few chapters in when shock and horror suddenly exploded. Full marks for excitement, and for a really difficult situation well defined and well resolved.

Without preaching, the book does explore several faith-related issues. These could be relevant to both Christians and people from other religious systems. Altogether a good read.

[Kimberly Westrope · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the premise of this story, and I like the writing as well as the characters. However, it felt a bit long and drawn out, and a little too ambitious. While I really appreciate the author's attempt to put forth a youth novel that presents biblical answers to the troubles we face, it just felt like she was trying to cover too many situations in one story - meanness, addiction, death, job loss, ego, romance, familial issues. Granted, these are all things we all deal with in the real world, but for me, it made the story feel a bit scattered, or with a little too much going on.

I think the characters were well-portrayed, except maybe they were all a bit too nice. Even the mean girls turned around in the end. While I think these characters are definitely good role models for young teens, I don't really believe anyone, even so-called Christians, are always as nice as Amber. Not in my experience, anyway.

As a follower of Christ and an inspirational writer myself, I am glad to see a well-written, clean, Christian, coming of age story for young people. I hope to see more of them in the future.

I listened to the audio book, and narrator, Randi Larson, did a good job with all the characters.

[Lynn Zagrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this audiobook free for an honest review. Loved this book. This book would be great to use in a teenage school study group. In this time of identifying bullies, the high school primadonna, is a bully (Chelsea). The other group, the God kids, are her, and her group's, target. This story covers the transition or progression of a troubled kid to her introduction and growing faith and the effect of/on her peers. This is a very emotional and informative story. Loved the story, the author and the narrator.

[Angie Ellington · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the type of YA book our youth should be reading more of. Well-written, inspiring & motivational. It’s part of a series that you’ll connect with at any age.

[Adam Kovynia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

**I have been given a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.**

TITLE: Capturing Faith

AUTHOR: Victoria Schwimley

PUB. DATE: March 29, 2014

WHERE TO BUY: Amazon, Apple, Barns & Noble

FORMAT: E-ARC

Capturing Faith: Chelsea Warren is the most popular girl in school, and the leader of the tightest clique on campus. The most important things to her are her looks and the respect of her followers. But Chelsea has a secret she doesn’t want anyone to know. Amber Walker is compassionate, trustworthy, and the most well-adjusted girl in school. The most important thing to her is serving God and her community. When an argument between Chelsea and her best friend occurs, she runs straight to Amber for help. Amber discovers Chelsea’s secret and turns to Pastor David Owens for assistance. Ryan Evers is the smartest boy on campus, but when a careless accident leaves one of the girls clinging to life and Ryan the object of hate, he also turns to David. Can David help these three troubled teens before it’s too late?

Review: This was a really good book.

It contained a good strong message throughout the story, and the plot twists were highly enjoyable. You were able to distinguish what each and every character was able to think, and I believe that’s a good trait in leading story and showing each character’s personalities.

I really liked Amber. She’s a great model student and an obedient daughter. She’s strong when push comes to shove (in this case being Chelsea) and she has a pure heart. Like when no matter how many times Chelsea likes to push her down, Amber always finds it in herself for forgiveness. She’s one of the most kind characters I’ve ever read.

Chelsea was your typical high school mean girl. I liked the change she went though, but the progression of her change was a bit rushed at times. But there’s no denying that under her cold heart, there was one full of love, and she wanted to spread it with everyone—it was rather adorable.

A lot of other characters might seem a bit over emphasized, but it helped me understand their place in the story and their separate personalities. Though sometimes a few of the characters (mostly the girls who were mean) were a bit much. I understand posses and cliques, but the girls didn’t want to think for themselves, and acted as though they weren’t even capable of having their own thoughts. So they relied too much on a leader to think for them.

The whole book was 3rd person omniscient, which meant that you could understand what every character was thinking no matter what. But sometimes the POV would switch unexpectedly, and it was hard to tell who was the one that was telling the story. It wasn’t something to be concerned over, it was just a thing that I noticed. (This only happened once or twice for me.)

I really enjoyed the take in this book. Also it was a story that easily stuck with me. Overall, this book was pretty good, and I hope that you can enjoy it too!

Rating: ❄️❄️❄️

[One-Click · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook - narration, Randi Larson - superb! Loved every minute of it.

This story - first I will tell you that this is a very spiritual book. Filled with references to God, the bible, kids going to bible study, kids doing good things, kids being hateful, gossipy and mean - and kids doing the right things.

Spiritual books are not normally my thing, BUT, this was a really good book. The pages were filled with love and kindness and kind of unbelievably good teenagers. I'm sure there are a lot of these good kids out there, just haven't personally interacted with them all that much. There were also your more typical snarky, mean teens who made fun of the kids who believed in God and went to church.

One of these mean gals is Chelsea - queen bee of the mean girls, but she has a fight with her second in command, ends up in a battle with her old group and comforted by Amber. So this is about some discovery for this girl who was shallow and hateful and learns a better way in life with the help of some good friends and a local pastor. Amber is like the super teen of super teens. She's just the way you want your kids to be. Kind, caring, smart, hardworking, even tempered, loyal and overall a great kid and example for others. (Yeah, a little paranormal here)

So - a lot of stuff happens in this book and I just can't tell you or it will ruin it. But there was a plot twist that had me pulling out the Kleenex and here came the ugly cry! I spent some major time being really mad at the author. Not her fault. She wrote an emotional twist with some really valuable lessons that had to be learned the hard way. I get that. It just tore my heart out. So, while these wonderful teens seemed kind of alien to me, it was not a paranormal book. It was a terrific Christian, teen, clean romance and I really enjoyed it!

I received this audiobook free of charge from AudiobookBoom in exchange for an unbiased review

[Phyllis Entis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Capturing Faith, by Victoria Schwimley is a YA novel with a Christian message. Now, I am neither a Christian, nor young (although, I hope I can be considered an adult), so I started to listen to this audiobook with some trepidation.

The book opens with an episode of verbal bullying that those of us who were not part of the ‘in crowd' in high school can relate to - a clique of girls taunting one of their classmates because she is ‘different.’ In this case, the difference is Amber’s open and unabashed practice of her religion. As the plot develops, Chelsea, the leader of the clique, becomes drawn to Amber’s faith and, in consequence, is ostracized by the other members of her clique.

To my relief, I discovered that Capturing Faith is about far more than belief in Christianity. It addresses several issues that confront young adults: bullying and being bullied; dealing with peer pressure and the pressure of parental expectations; and coping with tragic loss. Most importantly, the story is about taking responsibility for, and bearing the consequences of, one’s errors and actions.

Author Victoria Schwimley has drawn a portrait of a youth culture that will be familiar to many young adults, and narrator Randi Larson has done Schwimley’s story justice. My only quibble is that Amber was too good to be true: a Pollyanna without flaws or doubts.

I received a free, no-obligation copy of this audiobook from the author.

[Leslie Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book mostly for my young daughter. Though she's not at a place where she could read it now, I think of her eventually in high school and wanted a book that would show what it is like being a Christian, surrounded by non-Christians, as a teenager. The character of Amber was very admirable in the way she lived a clean life and tried to win others by her actions to Christ. I'll admit that I had a hard time relating to the teens (maybe that's showing my age), but I did really relate to Amber's parents, and would have loved more information and background on them. The parts dealing with the abuse of caffeine SEEMED a little far-fetched and preachy, but I understand them and the tragedy that happened in the book was could very well happen in a similar circumstance. But overall, I liked the book and it is filled with realistic characters (school bullies) as well as admirable characters. I listened to the Audible audio version of the book narrated by Randi Larson. Though it wasn't my favorite narration by a female, it was still done well. The higher voice (which is what I didn't like) fit well with the characters when I remember they are just kids.

[Susie Q · Rating 5 out of 5]

While Capturing Faith was written for a YA audience, I really enjoyed it. The characters are like teenagers today. As a teacher, I could easily picture the things that happened in the book. Teens in this day and time really struggle with many different issues, and in some instances, they don't turn out the way we want them to. I liked that Victoria G. Schwimley wrote about some of these problems especially of having too much caffeine in your body, and what it can do to you. Caffeine is a drug, and I hope that the young people that read this book will understand and share what they learn with others. I will be sharing Capturing Faith with my 13 year old granddaughter.

A very important part of this book is about the characters, especially Amber, who are Christians and aren't shy about sharing their faith with others. Hopefully this will encourage the Christian readers of this book to also share.

Randi Larson, who narrated this audio book, did a really good job. I thought that the tones in her voice were perfect for these characters. I look forward to listening to more from this author and narrator.

I was given this audio book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

[Allyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Capturing faith is a lovely, well written story about a group of high school kids and how they deal with faith, peer pressure and high expectations. Victoria Schwimley does a terrific job breathing life and depth into the main characters. Amber is a faithful Christian, driven to represent the love of Christ in her heart and her a tons. She is my favorite in the story, I wish I had known her when I was younger! Then there is Chelsea, our tortured soul who bullies and harrasses others with her highscool clique. Add Charlie, and Ryan a jock and an academic and you find this tale has much more than a simple Christian self discovery.
I loved watching the friends learn together and help each other with such heart and sincerity.
A wonderful read with a few surprises and excellent lessons.
Great job Ms. Schwimley!

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

“This audiobook was given by the author at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.”


A YA/ Christian / Romance/ Suspense / Coming of Age book. A teen girl leads a group of wannabes. They all like to bully and make fun of other kids. There are many twists and turns running throughout the book. I laughed in places and cried in others.


The narration was well done.The characters were well portrayed.Randi Larson does a great job with teen characters.

[Emilija · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this free audio book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book!! I don't normally read this genre but this book was really good. The friendship between Chelsea and Amber and the familial struggles of Chelsea's family. It was so well written and fun to read.